Heinrich, Rosen, Colleagues Issue Statement On Commerce Solar Tariff Investigation Decision, Calls For Extension Of Two-Year Pause On Tariffs

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and a group of Democratic senators led by U.S. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) issued a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce issuing a preliminary affirmative determination in their investigation into solar panels and cells imported from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. The investigation itself has caused widespread cancellations and delays in the U.S. solar industry and threatened to expand harmful job-killing tariffs on solar imports and raise costs for consumers. The solar industry employs over 230,000 American workers. According to a report issued by the Solar Energy Industries Association, 70% of U.S. companies say at least half of their solar workforce is at risk as a result of this investigation. 

“If we are serious about investing in a clean energy future and creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, we need to ensure that solar projects across the U.S. have access to the basic components needed to operate, grow, and thrive,” said the senators.“While the Department of Commerce rightfully narrowed the scope of its decision as compared to the original petition, we are concerned that this decision will still harm domestic solar efforts, hinder our clean energy goals, and hurt American jobs. In order to continue supporting such a critical industry and protecting good-paying American jobs, we urge the Biden Administration to take additional action by extending the two-year pause on new solar tariffs and expediting the implementation of the solar provisions, including the solar manufacturing tax credits, from the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Senators Heinrich and Rosen released the statement alongside U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

The Department’s decision follows calls from Senators Heinrich and Rosen and their colleagues to support American solar energy, protect solar jobs, and boost domestic solar manufacturing. Following the news that the Commerce Department had launched the investigation that could lead to additional job-killing solar tariffs, Senators Heinrich and Rosen led a bipartisan group of senators in a letter to Secretary Raimondo asking her to carefully consider the validity of this petition. Senators Heinrich and Rosen later led a bipartisan group of 21 colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging him to expedite and bring the investigation to a swift conclusion.

In June, following Senators Heinrich and Rosen’s efforts, the Biden administration announced a two-year suspension of solar tariffs that could have killed American jobs and increased solar costs, in addition to a new plan to use the Defense Production Act to boost domestic solar manufacturing.