The U.S. imports most of its solar panels. A new ruling may make that more expensive
Source: NPR
The Department of Commerce has determined that solar panel manufacturers in four Southeast Asian countries are evading U.S. trade rules by using Chinese-sourced materials subject to tariffs without paying applicable duties. Those countries — Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia — are responsible for nearly three-quarters of solar modules imported to the United States.
The ruling, unveiled Friday, means that new U.S. solar projects may soon be more expensive: manufacturers whose goods run afoul of Obama-era solar tariffs will be subject to additional import duties on their products. Those duties, however, will not begin to be assessed until June 2024, when a waiver put in place by the Biden administration is set to expire.
The cost of solar projects is incredibly important as the U.S. races to zero-out power sector greenhouse gas emissions — currently responsible for a quarter of the country's total — by 2035. The world must limit average global warming to about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid the most dire effects of climate change. It is not currently on track to achieve that goal.
Already in the United States, average summer temperatures have climbed more than two degrees since 1970 — and winter averages have warmed more than three degrees.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/1194303196/solar-panel-imports-china
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Thanks jimfields33
The oil and gas (formerly including coal) industries have gotten a free ride in this country for way too long as it is.
