The White House announced sweeping trade actions and tax guidance Thursday to bolster solar manufacturing, moves that could affect the industry’s growth.
In June, new tariffs will hit solar panels and cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after the Biden administration exempted those countries from fees two years ago. The shift could be significant for the market, as the four Southeast Asian nations currently dominate solar imports.
The administration also said they would no longer exempt countries from tariffs on “bifacial,” or two-sided, panels, a technology that accounts for the majority of solar imports. Those types of panels will now face a 14.25 percent duty, according to the White House.
“The investment boom that we’re seeing in the United States is threatened by unfair and non-market practices taking place overseas,” White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters Wednesday.
The moves come as the solar industry is facing ongoing inflation and post-pandemic challenges. The Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry’s main trade group, was publicly supportive when the Trump-era exemption on bifacial modules was reinstated in 2021. Many solar manufacturers, meanwhile, have said tariffs are needed to compete with a flood of cheap imports, arguing the four Southeast Asian countries overtook the market because Chinese firms operating in them evaded existing U.S. fees.