Biden’s China Tariffs Leave Space For Key Solar Machinery
- Plan allows for exemptions for manufacturing equipment
- US solar manufacturers had said some tariffs would raise costs
This article is for subscribers only.
US President Joe Biden’s plan to hike tariffs on Beijing’s green technology leaves room for companies to avoid duties on solar manufacturing equipment — an exemption that speaks to US reliance on Chinese-made machines to swiftly build out factories, potentially benefitting a small group of niche producers.
While so-called 301 tariffs on solar cells and modules from China will double, from 25% to 50%, the administration is also looking to exclude some machinery altogether in response to pleas from some US manufacturers. They argued tariffs on solar ingot and wafer-making equipment undermined Biden’s goal of establishing a broad domestic supply chain.