21-05-2025
3,500 percent solar tariff divides US industry
There's a new solar tariff in town, and it's a biggie.
An independent federal agency has backed imposing levies as high as 3,521 percent on China-linked solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries, writes Christa Marshall. The International Trade Commission concluded unanimously that U.S. manufacturers have been 'materially injured' by imported solar cells and panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The commission's finding clears the way for the Commerce Department to issue the trade penalties.
The news is drawing mixed reactions from a solar industry already facing massive headwinds from the Trump administration's efforts to undermine Biden-era clean energy policies.
The Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry's leading trade group, said the decision would raise costs for manufacturers and project developers that still rely on foreign parts.
'Imposing additional tariffs on cell imports at this stage risks stalling progress and undermining the very industry they are meant to support,' said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA's president and CEO.
But several U.S. solar manufacturers, including industry leader First Solar, applauded the decision as a major win. They have long contended that China unfairly subsidizes companies in Southeast Asian countries to flood the U.S. market with cheaper solar components.
'This ruling is a step forward in addressing China's continuing efforts to undermine the U.S. manufacturing rebuilding effort,' Mike Carr with the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition told Christa.
Not so fast … Still, even domestic solar manufacturers say the new tariffs may amount to diddly squat if GOP lawmakers slash Biden-era benefits for the industry in their massive budget bill. The bill would weaken or ax provisions in Democrats' 2022 climate law that benefit the solar industry, including for domestic manufacturers.
'All the trade protections in the world won't make a difference if Congress backtracks on its commitments to reshore this critical industry,' Carr said.
Provisions in the climate law have helped domestic production of solar panels grow sixfold since 2023. Solar manufacturing jumped from less than $1 billion in annual investments in 2022 to nearly $6 billion last year, according to research firm Rhodium Group.
The Republican megabill that moved through the House Ways and Means Committee this month could imperil 300 solar and storage facilities and cut solar power generation equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Pennsylvania by 2023, according to a SEIA analysis.
It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@
Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: James Bikales breaks down how House Republicans' reconciliation package could undermine President Donald Trump's efforts to create a domestic supply chain for critical minerals.
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Zeldin vs. Senate Democrats Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin sparred angrily with a top Senate Democrat over the cancellation of hundreds of agency grants awarded during the Biden administration, writes Sean Reilly.
During the hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Zeldin and ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) descended into a shouting match over the mechanics of how those cancellations were decided.
The heated exchange underscores Democrats' bitterness over the Trump administration's efforts to take back billions of dollars in Biden-era grants awarded by EPA and other agencies.
Offshore wind resurrection raises quid pro quo queries Trump's sudden decision Monday to lift his stop-work order on Empire Wind 1, a major New York offshore wind farm, prompted widespread speculation that the president had extracted a commitment from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to green-light a natural gas pipeline, writes Benjamin Storrow.
The governor, a Democrat, insisted no such deal was made, even as her aides noted Hochul was not opposed to a new pipeline — provided it meet all the necessary permitting requirements.
Wildfires rage as EU delays anti-deforestation rulesGlobal forest loss from climate-change-fueled wildfires reached a 20-year high in 2024, leading to the destruction of some of the planet's most important natural carbon sinks, writes Louise Guillot.
The finding, detailed in a new report from the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland, comes as the EU delays anti-deforestation rules and unwinds other environmental protections in a bid to boost economic competitiveness.
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The Interior Department said it's begun the process of evaluating a possible offshore mineral lease sale in U.S. waters off American Samoa, the first such auction in more than three decades.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it is redirecting $365 million intended to expand rooftop solar and storage in Puerto Rico to the island's unreliable power grid.
Environmental and Appalachian advocacy groups are demanding a full Senate hearing — and not just a vote — to question Trump's pick to lead the Mine Safety and Health Administration amid budget and staffing cuts.
That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
