House approves resolution to undo Biden solar tariff freeze

The House on Friday approved a Congressional Review Act resolution to resume tariffs on solar power imports suspended by the Biden administration.

The measure, H.J. Res. 39, was approved 221-202, with 12 Democrats joining most Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution and eight Republicans opposing it. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) sponsored it.

The White House has already vowed to veto the resolution, arguing the tariff suspension is vital to allow the U.S. to build up renewable energy infrastructure for the transition away from fossil fuels. The suspended tariffs apply to imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which together comprise about 80 percent of domestic panel supplies.

Despite the Democratic Senate majority, the resolution is likely to clear the upper chamber as well. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), both red-state Democrats facing a steep reelection challenge in 2024, have said they will vote for the resolution. On Thursday, a third, far less precariously positioned Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), also said he will back the resolution.

The three Democratic commitments, as well as that of Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), guarantee the resolution, which Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) sponsors in the upper chamber, will get at least 53 votes in the Senate if every Republican supports it.

The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to overturn a federal rule with a simple majority in both chambers. The Republican House has frequently used the law to target Biden administration energy and environmental regulations, including a Labor Department rule on environmental investing and, earlier this week, the Biden administration’s rule on emissions for heavy-duty vehicles.

Resuming the tariffs would be another blow to the domestic solar industry, which has warned it could be devastating to U.S. manufacturing. The suspension was intended in part to calm worries in the industry amid a Commerce Department investigation into potential tariff circumvention by solar panel manufacturers from the same four countries. The department in December issued a preliminary finding that some, but not all, of the companies had dodged their duties.

“The two-year solar tariff moratorium was imposed as a strategic bridge to stand up U.S.-based manufacturing capacity while allowing developers to keep building projects and move us toward our clean energy goals,” Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a statement after the vote Friday.

“Companies are making massive investments in manufacturing facilities across the country thanks to the IRA, and all this legislation serves to do is undercut American businesses as they invest billions in capital and seek to employ thousands of workers,” she added.