Senator Tells Commerce Secretary AD/CVD Circumvention Case Jeopardizing Solar Installations
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a senator who is opposed to the tariffs on imported solar panels that she cannot do much to speed up the anti-circumvention investigation on panels from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (see 2204050052).
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Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., told Raimondo during her April 27 appearance at the Senate Commerce Committee that the mere existence of the probe has led to delayed panel shipments and canceled shipments for solar installers. Rosen, who said she's "extremely disappointed" that the administration chose to renew safeguard tariffs on solar panels, said that these tariffs, and the prospect of more tariffs, undermine the administration's clean energy goals and increase energy costs.
She asked the Commerce Department to make an expedited preliminary determination on whether the Southeast Asian production is circumvention of antidumping duties on Chinese solar panels. The department has until Aug. 29 to issue a determination, and Rosen said that "the longer this situation persists, the more severe the damage will be."
Raimondo responded: "My hands are very tied here. I am required by statute to investigate a claim that companies operating in other countries are trying to circumvent the duties. And I am required to have a fulsome investigation. What I will commit to is moving as fast as possible.... I understand you need certainty, but I have to follow the statute."