The White House will announce on Monday that it will not impose any new tariffs on solar imports for two years, U.S. media reported on June 6, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, in a move aimed at putting stalled solar projects on track. Those projects were stalled by the U.S. Commerce Department's tariff investigation, and Biden would also use the Defense Production Act to boost domestic solar panel production.
In addition, relevant media said that Biden will issue this announcement, which will allow the United States to import solar panels from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam without being affected by tariffs for two years. The decision would herald a victory for U.S. developers and utilities that rely heavily on imported solar panels.
According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo in an interview with CNN on Sunday, it may make sense to remove tariffs on some goods. But we decided to keep some (steel and aluminum) tariffs because we need to protect American workers, we need to protect our steel industry; it's a matter of national security. Asked if she would consider ending tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports, she said it might make sense to remove tariffs on household goods and bicycles, which I know the president is looking at.
20 governors, 107 MPs strongly oppose Southeast Asia PV probe
It is understood that Biden’s frequent concessions were forced on the one hand by domestic inflationary pressures, and on the other hand, by strong condemnation by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Removing various tariffs, including those on Chinese goods, could reduce inflation by 1.3 percentage points, according to a March study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In April, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen also hinted that the U.S. is willing to cut tariffs to help control prices.
In the solar industry, due to the investigation of photovoltaic companies in Southeast Asia that started this year, American photovoltaic companies have suffered a lot of delays, which has made the American photovoltaic industry even worse. Under double pressure, on May 18 and May 19, 19 U.S. governors jointly requested the U.S. Department of Commerce to end the Southeast Asian solar tariff investigation as soon as possible, and then 85 U.S. House members sent a joint letter to Biden. President and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who said the devastating effects of the Southeast Asian PV business investigation are playing out across the U.S., asked the Commerce Department to take steps to make a preliminary decision as soon as possible. And said that if the Commerce Department makes a final ruling, it will affect 80% of U.S. solar cell module imports.
According to statistics, in May, the White House received letters from 20 governors, 22 U.S. senators and 85 members of the House of Representatives, strongly condemning the Commerce Department’s policy of investigating PV companies in Southeast Asia, saying the decision had subverted the US $33 billion PV industry. .
Under this pressure, the Biden administration has made frequent concessions in the past month. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a new policy to promote clean energy, and the U.S. Department of the Interior said rents and related costs for solar and wind projects would drop by about 50%.