Biden Administration Extends Solar Tariffs With Modifications

U.S. President Joe Biden announced a four-year extension of tariffs on imported solar cells and modules first enacted in 2018 under the Trump administration, according to a proclamation issued on Feb. 4. Biden’s move includes an exemption for bifacial solar panels and doubles the tariff rate quota to 5 gigawatts per year. The proclamation follows a report from the U.S. International Trade Commission finding that the safeguard action continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy harm to the domestic industry.

Biden’s proclamation also directs the U.S. trade representative to open negotiations with Canada and Mexico that could lead to excluding from the tariff imports from the two U.S. neighbours. Solar groups have cited the importance of the exemption for bifacial solar panels, which can absorb sunlight on both sides and consequently boost generation. Industry advocates have been fighting for that exclusion, as bifacial modules are not readily available in the U.S.

The Solar Energy Industries Association expressed disappointment at the extension of the tariffs, but commended that administration for considering a range of issues, noting that the decision “arrived at a balanced solution in upholding the exclusion for bifacial panels and increasing the tariff rate quota for cells.”

Bifacial panels were excluded from the Trump-era tariffs in June 2019. The former President withdrew those exemptions in October 2020, only for the U.S. Court of International Trade to reinstate them in November of last year. Trump’s tariffs were set at 30 percent for foreign-made solar cells and modules in February 2018, a bid to protect domestic manufacturing and spur foreign competitors to open operations in the U.S. to boost the domestic economy. Those tariffs declined by 5 percent per year over a four-year period. The tariffs have contributed to higher costs for power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificates, as they have made solar modules most costly to procure — costs that have been passed along to electricity buyers.