Escalating trade spat over solar panel imports may derail Biden’s 2035 climate goal of reaching a carbon-free power sector
- This week, a major solar-panel maker warned that all imports from China risk being detained by US Customs and Border Protection
- A group of unnamed US solar manufacturers filed petitions to extend import duties to Chinese-owned factories in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand
The trade tumult threatens to disrupt the US solar market, potentially upending Biden’s goal of a carbon-free power sector by 2035. The country today depends on foreign manufacturing for most its panels, with Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand the three biggest suppliers, according to US trade data.
“The disruptive and harmful impact of new trade petitions and Customs and Border Protection enforcement action cannot be understated,” Solar Energy Industries Association President Abigail Ross Hopper said in an email to members hours after the petitions were filed. “The disruption to the US solar market could be severe.”
In some respects, there has never been a brighter moment for solar power in the US Installations are booming. Biden appeared poised to deliver the most progressive climate presidency in history – and on the heels of an administration steadfast on boosting fossil fuels, no less. And yet, the industry’s supply chain has been battered by higher costs, including for modules and freight.
