U.S. President Joe Biden will allow duty-free imports of solar projects and panel parts from four countries in Southeast Asia, enabling U.S. renewable energy developers to cut costs.
The White House move was part of a package to accelerate the clean energy transition, including invoking the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of solar cell components.
Biden’s decision will “temporarily” allow U.S. solar panel developers to ship modules and cells duty-free from four Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The move effectively removes the threat of a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation that could lead to significant tariff increases on some imported solar projects and panel components.
The Commerce Department launched an anti-dumping investigation in March following a complaint from a small California-based solar panel maker, Auxin Solar, that alleged Chinese companies were evading U.S. export tariffs by assembling panels in Southeast Asia.
The investigation was supported by some U.S. solar P.V. manufacturers but was strongly opposed by clean-energy developers and other industry advocates, who said it was having a “chilling” effect on the sector and could derail the Biden administration’s efforts to green the nation’s electricity grid.
Heather Zichal, head of the Clean Energy Association of America, said Biden’s announcement “will heal the U.S. solar industry, which a misguided Commerce Department investigation has undermined.”