President Biden delivered only the third veto of his presidency Tuesday against bipartisan legislation to reimpose tariffs he temporarily suspended on China-allied Southeast Asian solar panel producers, siding with clean-energy advocates over the domestic solar panel industry.
The bill sought to protect American solar manufacturers from low-cost foreign competitors and crack down on what critics said was China’s use of companies in other countries to produce the panels and get around U.S. trade laws.
Mr. Biden and the U.S. solar energy advocates feared slapping back on the tariffs would cripple the supply of cheaper foreign panels that domestic manufacturers can use.
“Passage of this resolution bets against American innovation. It would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for American businesses and workers in the solar industry,” Mr. Biden said in his veto message to Congress. “Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.”
Mr. Biden waived solar tariffs last year until June 2024 against four Southeast Asian countries — Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam — that Chinese companies use to produce 80% of the panels used in U.S. projects.
Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, the lead Democrat on the bipartisan legislation, said he was “disappointed” by Mr. Biden’s decision.
“The Biden administration found, in its own investigation, that Chinese companies are violating the law. Yet the president’s position, and today’s veto, fails to hold China accountable and hurts American workers,” Mr. Kildee said. “Congress passed this bipartisan resolution with strong support from Republicans and Democrats.”
Congress will have the opportunity to override the president’s veto but is expected to fall short of the required two-thirds majority in both chambers. The Senate earlier this month approved the legislation 56-41, with nine Democrats in support, and the House passed it last month 221-202 with just 12 Democrats backing the legislation.
Congress failed to override Mr. Biden’s first two vetoes against other environmental regulations. The first sought to scuttle a Labor Department rule allowing corporate 401(k) plan fiduciaries to engage in environmental and socially conscious investing strategies, while the other would have blocked an EPA rule expanding the federal government’s authority to protect small waterways like streams and wetlands.
“Failing to stand up to those who engage in unfair trade practices hurts American workers and manufacturers,” Mr. Kildee said of the vetoed solar tariffs. “Our workers and businesses will never be able to compete globally unless we hold those who violate U.S. trade laws accountable.”
While the tariffs protect U.S. solar panel producers, the U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry trade group, praised Mr. Biden’s veto, saying it would preserve 30,000 jobs that would have been lost by stalled development because of higher costs.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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