(Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that would block Chinese solar panel makers from claiming subsidies for their U.S. factories.
WHY IT MATTERS
The American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act was introduced when some of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturers, based in China, set up factories in the United States. Their facilities are supported by new tax credits created by President Joe Biden’s landmark climate change law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
The Biden administration has sought to boost investments that create American jobs in clean energy, but is desperately trying to avoid over-reliance on geopolitical rival China.
Some U.S. solar equipment makers have said they are finding it difficult to compete against a flood of cheap imports and are concerned about China’s outsized presence in the global market.
IMPORTANT QUOTE
“We cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to go to Chinese companies that cheat and undermine American solar energy production,” Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, said in a statement.
Brown’s legislation was co-sponsored by fellow Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and two Republican senators: Rick Scott of Florida and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
