Biden vetoes bid by Congress to resume solar tariffs on Southeast Asia

U.S. President Joe Biden has vetoed a Congress resolution that would have undone his two-year moratorium on tariffs for solar panels and modules imported to the U.S. from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind President Joe Biden’s two-year “pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on solar products” from the four Southeast Asian countries.

In his veto on Tuesday, Biden affirmed his agenda has helped improve the U.S. solar equipment manufacturing sector. "When it comes to solar, since I took office, 51 new and expanded solar equipment manufacturing plants have been announced, and America is now on track to increase domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity eight-fold," he said.

The tariff suspension, launched in June 2022, is a 24-month period to make sure U.S. factories are operational and the solar industry is ready to power up American homes, businesses, and communities.

"For too long, because of unfair trade practices and underinvestment in domestic manufacturing, the United States has been reliant on China for solar energy products," Biden wrote in his veto.

"I do not intend to extend the tariff suspension at the conclusion of the 2-year period in June 2024," he added.

In December 2022, a U.S. trade court ruled that four Chinese companies had illegally tried to dodge American tariffs on solar products sent from China by routing their products through factories in Southeast Asia. The decision applied to the Thailand operations of Canadian Solar and Trina Solar, as well as BYD Cambodia and Vina Solar Vietnam, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As of the end of 2022, the U.S. launched 52 trade defense cases against Vietnamese export goods, the highest figure among all trade partners of Vietnam. In particular, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated 20 tax evasion investigations against Vietnam, including those for solar panels worth $1.4 billion.

Vietnam has attracted global producers of solar modules and panels, with major American, Canadian, and Chinese investors already present, as the tropical country is ramping up investment in solar and wind power.

JinkoSolar, one of the world’s top makers of solar modules, has 12 production facilities globally, including two in Vietnam. Both are in Song Khoai Industrial Park, developed by Thailand’s Amata Corp., in the northern province of Quang Ninh.