Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, released the following statement regarding her vote on the Congressional Review Act resolution. The resolution disapproves the Biden Administration’s 2-year suspension of critical market-leveling import tariffs on companies that illegally circumvent U.S. trade laws by funneling solar cells and modules manufactured in the People’s Republic of China through four Southeast Asian countries.
Due to heavy government subsidies, forced labor, and cheap coal, solar cells and modules manufactured in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can be dumped on the U.S. market at artificially low prices. The U.S. imposes tariffs on the import of these products to protect American manufacturers from grossly unfair competition. In December, after a months-long investigation, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced it had preliminarily determined that four companies are circumventing these tariffs by moving solar cells and modules manufactured in the PRC through four Southeast Asian countries. By suspending tariffs on solar cells and modules from Southeast Asia, the Biden Administration has given the PRC a pass to flagrantly flout U.S. trade laws, undercut American manufacturers, and harm American workers.
As Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Congresswoman Kaptur is a champion for American-made solar and has oversight over funding the Department of Energy. Last week, Congresswoman Kaptur announced that the Department of Energy has awarded $16.1 Million to the Toledo area to spur jobs and solar energy innovation. As part of this award, Toledo Solar will receive $8.8 Million to demonstrate the application of semitransparent cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panels to windows, addressing a new market for thin-film solar devices, while First Solar will receive $7.3 Million for a project that will develop a tandem module combining CdTe and silicon carbide—a new residential rooftop product that is more efficient than silicon or thin-film modules on the market today.
“I’m honored to lead the fight for a new energy economy in America. Investing in next-generation energy technology brings good-paying jobs and economic growth to Northwest Ohio,” said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. “The most recent multi-million dollar awards to Toledo Solar and First Solar highlight the federal government’s strong and sustained investment in Ohio workers and Ohio companies that are the lifeblood of our local economy and leading the way in emerging solar technology. The evidence of China’s targeting of our domestic solar industry required a forceful response. Deploying new energy technologies in our country cannot come at the expense of America’s solar industry and the thousands of workers at Ohio’s hometown companies like First Solar and Toledo Solar.”