20 US governors have asked President Biden and the US Department of Commerce to end an investigation into tariff fraud on solar panels.
Earlier, 85 members of the House of Representatives and a group of US senators had already asked Biden to speed up the investigation.
Auxin Solar
The Biden administration decided at the end of March to launch an investigation into import duty fraud by Chinese solar panel manufacturers after Auxin Solar requested it. The products will be transferred across Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
The study could lead to additional import tariffs of up to 250 percent on photovoltaic products from Southeast Asia, which currently accounts for 80 percent of solar panel imports into the United States. And the governors stress in their letter that even without a single discovery of wrongdoing, widespread damage has already been done. The latest data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) shows that at least 318 solar projects, the equivalent of 52 gigawatts of solar panels, have already been delayed or canceled.
From Indiana to California
Signatories to the letter include conservative governors from states such as Indiana and Kansas, as well as loyal climate governors from Massachusetts and California.
Through governors, senators, and representatives, 35 states have at least one elected official calling on President Biden to expedite a preliminary decision on the issue. “Governors also understand the importance of clean, reliable, low-cost energy, and their message demonstrates how Commerce Department research impacts state, power and local economies,” said Abigail Ross Huber, SEIA President and CEO. States have been at the forefront of clean energy for years, and while federal efforts to reduce From climate change, the Biden administration is now standing in the way of statewide clean energy goals.As a direct result of the baseless tariff situation, the United States is now on the right track to install more solar energy under President Trump than President Biden Each day this issue continues, President Biden’s vision of a strong clean energy economy becomes elusive. We urge the Commerce Department to make a negative initial decision as soon as possible.”
