50% Off! Beat the market in 2025 with InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Biden vetoes legislation to block solar panel tariffs waivers

Published 05/16/2023, 01:16 PM
Updated 05/16/2023, 02:30 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Joe Biden walks past solar panels while touring the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative in Plymouth, New Hampshire, U.S., June 4, 2019.   REUTERS/Brian Snyder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he has vetoed legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that would repeal exemptions on American tariffs on imported solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations.

The waivers for duties on panels made in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, granted by Biden in June 2022, are set to be in place for two years.

Biden said the waivers will create a "bridge" while U.S. manufacturing ramps up enough to supply the domestic projects needed to achieve goals in fighting climate change.

Top clean energy trade groups, whose members rely on cheap imports to keep their costs low, support the exemption and praised Biden's veto.

The waiver stemmed from a Commerce Department investigation last year that found that some major Chinese solar panel makers were trying to dodge U.S. tariffs on their products by finishing them in Southeast Asian nations. Imports from the countries make up around 80% of U.S. solar panel supplies.

Domestic solar manufacturers have said the tariffs are needed now to compete with cheap panels made overseas.

In a statement explaining only the third veto of his presidency, Biden said the waivers would help ensure "we have a thriving solar installation industry ready to deploy American-made solar products to homes, businesses and communities across the nation." Biden said he does not intend to extend the waivers after their expiration.

Representative Dan Kildee, a Democrat who was one of the sponsors of the legislation, said he was disappointed in the veto.

"Our workers and businesses will never be able to compete globally unless we hold those who violate U.S. trade laws accountable," Kildee said in a statement.

Congress appears to lack the votes to override Biden's veto, with two-thirds majorities needed in the House of Representatives and Senate.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Joe Biden walks past solar panels while touring the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative in Plymouth, New Hampshire, U.S., June 4, 2019.   REUTERS/Brian Snyder

In a statement, the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said the legislation would have eliminated 30,000 jobs in the solar sector by stalling development.

"This action is a reaffirmation of the administration's commitment to business certainty in the clean energy sector, and a signal to companies to continue creating jobs, building domestic manufacturing capacity and investing in American communities," SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.