Golden urges regulators, Biden administration to level the playing field for workers in US solar industry
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) joined a bicameral effort today to push for the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce to level the playing field for American solar workers by supporting a set of antidumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee.
In a letter to the Secretary of Commerce and the Chair of the ITC, Golden is demanding they thoroughly investigate Chinese companies with facilities in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam that are engaging in unfair trade practices to avoid U.S. tariffs and undermine the U.S. solar industry and its workers, to pave the way for further action to combat China’s cheating.
“China is skirting trade laws. Its anti-competitive practices undermine U.S. workers and manufacturers, jeopardize our national security and threaten American energy independence,” Golden said. “Regulators and the Biden administration must do everything in their power to stand up for American industry in the face of unfair foreign competition.”
Golden signed the letter, which was led by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09). Additional signers include Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bob Casey (D-PA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA); and Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Jon Garamendi (D-CA-08), Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01) and Terri Sewell (D-AL-07).
“U.S. solar workers and manufacturers are ready to compete on a level playing field, but leaving China’s cheating unaddressed puts thousands of American solar jobs and the domestic solar industry in jeopardy,” the members wrote. “Supporting the petitions filed by the Alliance helps hold China accountable and ensure all Americans and our allies benefit from a thriving U.S. solar manufacturing base. Careful consideration of all four countries in the petitions is a necessity, as a negative determination in one will lead Chinese-headquartered producers to shift production to that country. We support the Alliance’s AD/CVD petitions to give the U.S. solar industry its chance to shine.”
Golden in May introduced The Declaring Our Energy Independence from China Act, which would require the President to apply additional tariffs to all battery components, solar energy components, and wind energy components imported from China at a 25 percent rate. The rate would rise by an additional five percent each of the following five years, for a final rate of 50 percent. The bill also would require the United States Trade Representative to submit to Congress a report detailing the extent to which China has, during the preceding 15 years, provided industrial subsidies to its battery, solar energy, and wind energy sectors.
In August, the Department of Commerce issued a final determination confirming that Chinese solar panel producers — operating in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam — are circumventing U.S. trade law meant to protect American businesses and workers by routing their products through Southeast Asia. A March 2023 reportfrom the ITC showed that Section 301 and 232 tariffs led to significant increases in domestic production in the tariffed industries that were analyzed.
The full letter is available here and below.
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Dear Chairman Johanson and Secretary Raimondo:
We write in strong support of the antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) petitions filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee (Alliance) to investigate unfair trade practices by primarily Chinese-owned companies operating in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam that are causing harm to the U.S. solar industry. We support the petitions against these entities – many of which have previously been found to have engaged in illegal dumping in violation of our nation’s trade laws – to ensure America’s solar workers have the chance to compete on a level playing field.
The Alliance, which includes Convalt Energy, First Solar, Hanwha-QCells, Meyer Burger Mission Solar, REC Silicon, and Swift Solar, has filed its petitions on behalf of the domestic solar manufacturing industry, which supports 34,000 workers and has the potential to add tens of thousands more good-paying, American jobs. Unfortunately, China has made it clear that it will do anything to stop American manufacturing from realizing its potential and is currently targeting the growing U.S. solar industry through the use of market-distorting trade practices, including illegal subsidies. Holding China accountable for its illegal trade practices will allow for the growth of a more diverse, and more secure, solar supply chain, here in the United States.
China has subsidized the construction of manufacturing facilities in other countries, particularly those within their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. These are Chinese-owned factories, operated by Chinese companies, making solar panels and cells with Chinese materials all with one goal: to circumvent U.S. trade law. By establishing facilities in third-party countries, Chinese companies can avoid targeted trade enforcement actions, which is why these petitions are so critical. Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam accounted for 84 percent of solar panel imports in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is a continuation of long-standing practice, albeit with different tactics, as it was these same countries that were home to the last Chinese efforts to evade enforcement of American trade law. This case also has the potential to set an important precedent for addressing China’s anticompetitive practices across many industries.
Subsidization, dumping, and ultimately circumvention are the tools China utilizes to support production far in excess of market demands. Massive government subsidies allow Chinese solar manufacturers to develop overcapacity, decimating market dynamics. By dumping solar products into markets at artificially low prices, Chinese companies deny solar manufacturers in the U.S. the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.Asa result of China’s longstanding policies, solar is one of the “new three” strategic industries – which includes electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries – that the Chinese government has decided to dominate. Today, China’s dominance of solar supply chains already represents a strategic vulnerability. Its solar industry, which has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, currently produces more than 90 percent of solar-grade polysilicon, controls more than 99 percent of the global production capacity for wafers, and disturbingly controls over 80 percent of global shipments across the solar supply chain.
China’s dominance of the solar supply chain creates significant energy security risks, in addition to stifling domestic job growth and harming American manufacturing potential. This industry cannot reach its full potential in the U.S. if China's companies operate as a one-nation solar cartel. For the American solar manufacturing sector, holding China accountable for its illegal trade practices is of critical importance. Strong enforcement will allow for the growth of a more diverse, and more secure, solar supply chain, which minimizes the risks associated with relying on imports and keeps workers employed.
U.S. solar workers and manufacturers are ready to compete on a level playing field, but leaving China’s cheating unaddressed puts thousands of American solar jobs and the domestic solar industry in jeopardy. Supporting the petitions filed by the Alliance helps hold China accountable and ensure all Americans and our allies benefit from a thriving U.S. solar manufacturing base. Careful consideration of all four countries in the petitions is a necessity, as a negative determination in one will lead Chinese-headquartered producers to shift production to that country. We support the Alliance’s AD/CVD petitions to give the U.S. solar industry its chance to shine.
Sincerely,
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