The tariff waiver was supposed to deal with a scarcity of solar modules, which was threatening American solar tasks, whereas permitting the United States to construct its home solar manufacturing capability. About three-quarters of solar modules imported to the United States in 2020 got here from Southeast Asia, the White House said last year.
In his veto letter Tuesday, Biden stated his administration’s plan was working, noting that 51 new and expanded solar tools manufacturing crops had been introduced since he took workplace, and that a number of different non-public corporations had dedicated to growing their solar panel manufacturing capability.
“America is now on track to increase domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity eightfold by the end of my first term,” Biden wrote. “But that production will not come online overnight. The Department of Commerce’s rule supports American businesses and workers in the solar industry and helps provide sufficient, clean, and reliable electricity to American families, while continuing to hold our trading partners accountable.”
Biden additionally stated that he didn’t intend to increase the Department of Commerce rule after it’s set to run out in June 2024.
The House passed the resolution last month in a 221-202 vote, with 12 Democrats and most Republicans voting in favor of it. The Senate handed the resolution earlier this month in a 56-41 vote, with 9 Democrats becoming a member of all Republicans besides Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to assist it. The resolution was handed underneath the Congressional Review Act, which permits Congress to overturn guidelines by federal businesses through a easy majority vote.
The Solar Energy Industries Association, which represents greater than 1,000 solar corporations, instantly urged Biden to veto the resolution after Congress handed it, and on Tuesday praised Biden’s motion.
“President Biden’s veto has helped preserve our nation’s clean energy progress and prevented a bill from becoming law that would have eliminated 30,000 American jobs, including 4,000 solar manufacturing jobs,” SEIA president Abigail Ross Hopper stated in a press release. “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.”
Republicans and Democrats who supported the resolution argued that China must be punished for circumventing tariffs by transport their merchandise by means of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, in line with a preliminary finding in a Commerce Department investigation.
Ultimately, Biden argued that the resolution would hurt the event of the solar business within the United States.
“Passage of this resolution bets against American innovation,” Biden wrote in his veto letter. “It would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for American businesses and workers in the solar industry. Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.”
Maxine Joselow contributed to this report.
