President Joe Biden has suspended tariffs on solar panels imported from specific South Asia countries and has invoked the Defense Production Act to speed U.S. production of certain energy technologies to move the country toward energy independence.
The 24-month tariff exemption affects solar panels imported from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. The Department of Commerce is investigating whether solar components made in China are being routed through those countries to avoid U.S. tariffs against Chinese goods.
The investigation has halted imports of needed solar materials and stalled solar projects throughout the U.S., according to reporting by Reuters. The news agency reports the move by the Biden administration will ease concerns that companies need to keep billions of dollars in reserve for retroactive tariffs potentially of up to 250%.
President Biden also authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) to use the DPA to hasten domestic production of five important energy technologies: solar; transformers and electric-grid components; heat pumps; insulation; and electrolyzers, fuel cells and platinum group metals, the DOE announced earlier this month.
The measures are intended to support the Biden administration's goals to lower energy costs, increase national security, reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels and build its clean-energy future, according to the DOE.
“President Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act so that the U.S. can take ownership of its clean energy independence,” DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in the announcement. “For too long the nation’s clean-energy supply chain has been over-reliant on foreign sources and adversarial nations.”
"With the new DPA authority," Granholm said, "DOE can help strengthen domestic solar, heat pump and grid manufacturing industries while fortifying America’s economic security and creating good-paying jobs, and lowering utility costs along the way.”
