House Votes to Reverse Biden Solar Tariff Freeze; 12 Democrats Join Republican Majority

Workers install solar panels during the completion phase of a 4-acre solar rooftop atop AltaSea's research and development facility at the Port of Los Angeles on April 21, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The House of Representatives passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution on Friday to overturn a Biden administration policy that paused tariffs on imported solar panels.

The resolution, H.J. Res. 39, passed in the House by a vote of 221–202. Twelve Democrats joined the majority of Republicans who voted in favor of the bill, while eight Republicans opposed the resolution.

The resolution comes in response to an administrative rule that Biden’s Department of Commerce submitted in September which waives tariffs on solar panels completed in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam using parts and components manufactured in China. The tariff waiver is set to last until June of 2024 or until Biden rescinds a related emergency proclamation that describes struggles to “provide sufficient electricity generation to serve expected customer demand” in the United States.

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have brought forward resolutions to overturn the Biden administration’s tariff policy. Supporters of these resolutions have argued that the Biden administration’s policy makes the U.S. energy industry less competitive and incentivizes Chinese firms to simply route their products through other countries in order to duck U.S. tariffs.

“The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday.

Manchin is supporting a Senate version of the CRA resolution to overturn the Biden tariff policy. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have also signaled their support for the Republican-led Senate resolution, while a spokesperson for Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) has told Fox News he is still reviewing the issue.

The Democratic support for overturning Biden’s tariff waivers could be enough to pass a CRA resolution in the Democrat-controlled Senate if all 49 Republican senators also support the resolution.

Biden Vows Veto

Even if the CRA resolutions do pass both houses of Congress, the Biden White House already indicated earlier this week that he would veto such measures. The White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy on Monday, stating his opposition to the House resolution of disapproval against his tariff policies.

The White House said that Biden has been working “from day one” to help grow jobs in the solar energy industry in the United States and onshore the supply chain for the solar energy industry.

“However,” the White House said, “these investments will take time to ramp up production—which is why last spring, the President declared an emergency to ensure that Americans have access to reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.”

The White House said the tariff waiver “is necessary to satisfy the demand for reliable and clean energy while ensuring Commerce is able to rigorously enforce U.S. trade laws, hold trading partners accountable, and defend U.S. industries and workers from unfair trade actions.”

“Passage of this joint resolution would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for jobs and investments in the solar supply chain and the solar installation market,” the White House added.

If the CRA resolutions clear both House of Congress and Biden does issue a veto, it would take two-thirds of both the House and the Senate to override Biden’s veto. If Friday’s vote on H.J. Res. 39 is any indication of who would support an override effort, it is unlikely that lawmakers would be able to defeat Biden’s veto.

Biden has issued two other vetoes so far in his presidency.

Biden issued the first veto of his presidency in March to overrule a bill banning a measure prohibiting pension fund managers from using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scoring to make investment decisions for their pensioners rather than simply focusing on maximizing financial returns.

Biden issued his second veto earlier this month in order to keep in place the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Opponents of the WOTUS rule have said it imposes regulatory burdens on landowners in rural areas, while proponents have argued the rule helps protect marshlands and other ecosystems from water pollution.

From NTD News