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The US House of Representatives voted on Friday to reverse President Biden’s suspension of tariffs on solar panels from four countries in Southeast Asia, which China has used as a workaround to boost its sales, but falls far short of the sufficient subsidy that would trigger it. There is a need to overcome the presidential veto.
The resolution, which passed by a vote of 221 to 202, now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate for consideration, where its fate is uncertain, but lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns about unfair competition from China.
The narrow vote seems to indicate Solar developers are immune from tariffs It would cripple their industry, they said, as it discouraged Senate Democrats from endorsing the effort and possibly avoiding the vote altogether.
Biden last year waived tariffs on solar energy products from the four countries, saying the tariffs had delayed or canceled hundreds of solar projects aimed at boosting clean energy in American homes and businesses.
The Solar Energy Industries Association says the United States with current manufacturing capacity cannot produce enough panels and cells domestically to meet demand.
This has been a tough week for solar stocks (New York: Tan), due to disappointing results from Enphase Energy (ENPH) and First Solar (FSLR), which caused both -26.5% And -15.8% for the week.
Further analysis from Finding Alpha: