Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
February 4, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) released a statement following the decision by the Biden administration to exclude bifacial solar panels from their extension of the Section 201 safeguard tariffs on solar panels. In January, Portman sent a letter to President Biden urging him to heed the unanimous recommendation of the International Trade Commission (ITC) and extend the Section 201 safeguard tariffs on solar panels for another four years. In the letter, Portman stressed the importance of including bifacial solar modules in any safeguard extension, which were not currently subject to the tariffs and causing serious harm to domestic solar manufacturers.
“I am deeply disappointed that with the Biden administration’s decision on the solar safeguard today, the administration prioritized China’s anti free market practices over American jobs. While I am pleased to see the administration extend the solar tariffs for another four years, excluding bifacial solar panels from the safeguard — despite warnings from a unanimous, independent International Trade Commission — will have the opposite effect. It will do nothing to incentivize the investments necessary to expand domestic manufacturing of solar panels, and only continues our reliance on China and their forced labor practices for this technology.”
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