U.S. President Biden issued a statement on May 16, local time, vetoing a new bill by the Senate and House of Representatives demanding that the U.S. government end tariff exemptions for solar products in four Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam).
The veto means that the two-year tariff suspension will last at least until June 2024.
Biden said in a statement posted on the White House website that he vetoed the bill because the United States could not afford the new uncertainty it would bring to American businesses and workers in the solar industry.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported on May 4 that the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on April 29 by 221 votes to 202 to lift tariff exemptions for solar products from four Southeast Asian countries. Subsequently, the US Senate also passed the resolution by a vote of 56 to 41.
If the resolution is finally passed by the White House, tariffs on solar panels imported from Southeast Asia could be as high as 254%, while tariffs on imports currently affected are below double digits.
But Biden eventually issued a statement on May 16, local time, vetoing the resolution, which he said would undermine his administration's efforts to build a strong domestic solar supply chain. (For a detailed review, click on "Meet the Variables Again!")!
Solar equipment is a key part of Biden's agenda to combat climate change and achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035.
Earlier, the White House said that since Biden took office, the domestic solar power capacity in the United States has increased from 7.5G W to 15G W, and his goal is to reach 22.5G W by the end of his first term in 2024.
Biden said in his veto statement on Tuesday that the United States is now on track to increase domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity eightfold by the end of his first term, but that this productivity will not happen overnight. He said a two-year moratorium on tariffs would provide a temporary "bridge" to ensure that when new US plants become operational, "the US has a thriving solar equipment industry ready to install US-made solar products in homes, businesses and communities across the country."
Last June, Biden waived tariffs on solar panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In April, a U.S. House of Representatives committee voted in favor of reinstating tariffs on solar panels from the four countries in an attempt to reverse Biden's policy of exempting tariffs.
However, it is worth noting that Biden also said in his statement that he does not intend to extend the waiver after it expires, which expires in June 2024.
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