We Can’t Afford Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels
Measures meant to support US manufacturers are just raising costs and delaying the clean-energy transition.
Let’s not be too picky about where solar panels are made.
Photographer: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Imposing heavy tariffs on solar equipment at a time when you’re trying to stave off global warming, fight inflation and avoid a recession is like running an Olympic sprint with 20-pound weights strapped to your ankles. It’s counterproductive, to say the least.
And yet the US government can’t seem to resist the urge to weigh itself down when it comes to transitioning to greener energy. In the latest episode, the House narrowly passed a bill that would restore tariffs on the types of solar panels favored by utility-scale installers. Even if the bill passes the Senate, which is no sure thing, President Joe Biden has threatened to veto it. That’s the only good news here. No matter what the president does, the gravitational pull of solar protectionism will still be strong.