Senate overrides Biden's move to protect Chinese solar panel industry

The Senate has approved a measure to override President Biden's decision to exempt Chinese solar panel manufacturers from tariffs for two years. The vote was bipartisan, with 56 senators voting in favor of the resolution, which was sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. The House passed a similar resolution last week, with 12 Democrats voting in favor. President Biden is expected to veto the resolution if it reaches his desk.

Sen. Scott argued that the resolution is pro-American jobs and anti-Chinese forced and child labor. He accused China of human rights atrocities and called on the Senate to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party. Sen. Manchin and several other Democrats, including Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and John Fetterman, D-Pa., also voted in favor of the legislation.

According to the International Energy Agency, Chinese companies control over 80% of the global solar panel industry and control the supply chain in all manufacturing stages. The Chinese solar industry has been linked to forced labor in China's Xinjiang province. Sen. Brown argued that Chinese companies, often subsidized by the Chinese government, should not be allowed to dump solar panels into the US and skirt the rules while American workers are trying to compete.

President Biden implemented the 24-month moratorium on solar panel anti-circumvention tariffs in June 2022 to allow companies to build solar panel production capabilities on US soil. However, the move came after the Commerce Department announced it would investigate whether Chinese manufacturers were routing solar panels through Southeast Asian countries to avoid US tariffs.

The agency's preliminary findings in December showed that four large solar companies had routed products through Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam to circumvent duties. The Commerce Department is expected to release its final findings this month.

Pro-tariff groups like the Coalition for a Prosperous America and human rights groups like the Uyghur Human Rights Project supported the resolution, while environmental and green energy organizations like the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) opposed it. SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper argued that the United States cannot produce enough solar panels and cells to meet demand and that overturning the moratorium at this stage puts the future of clean energy manufacturing and development at risk.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., who sponsored the House version of the bill alongside Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., praised the Senate vote and called for holding those who violate US trade laws accountable, including China. He vowed to continue supporting efforts to expand the domestic manufacturing of solar panels and standing up for fair trade and the American worker.