Growing Number of Senate Dems Oppose Biden Rule Waiving Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panel Parts

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) speaks at a press conference on the introduction of the Senate Ethics Act outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on April 18, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Several Democrats in the U.S. Senate are signaling opposition to a rule from President Joe Biden’s administration that temporarily lifts tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels.

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