Anti-Tax Group Urges No Vote on Solar Circumvention Resolution
The National Taxpayers Union, a group that advocates for lower taxes, is urging members of the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution that would overturn the administration's decision to delay antidumping and countervailing duties on solar panels from Southeast Asia that the Commerce Department says circumvent an earlier order against Chinese panels.
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The group said: “NTU agrees with the House Ways and Means Committee that trade policy should protect the interests of American workers and our economy as a whole. However, the initial imposition of solar tariffs resulted from a flawed and biased system. The Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) failed to utilize cost-benefit analysis to consider the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy. Solar taxes were imposed without consideration of their impact on U.S. jobs, on the energy industry, on manufacturers, or on energy prices for American households.”
The group has been critical of Section 301 tariffs, but used the letter to note that Auxin Solar, the company that brought the circumvention complaint, is also an importer from China. “Ironically, according to the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as of 2019 most of the components and materials used by Auxin are imported. Earlier this year Auxin even asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives to exclude certain Chinese-produced solar goods from Section 301 tariffs, writing: 'Removing tariffs on junction boxes, solar glass, EVAs, and solar module assembly equipment would free up further resources to hasten the expansion of the U.S. solar value chain, ultimately yielding a more secure domestic solar supply chain.'”
NTU argues that imposing these duties on imported solar panels will increase the cost of providing energy. If the resolution were to become law -- and it would need a veto-proof majority in both chambers to do so -- the duties would be collected retroactively on imports going back to April 2022.