Nearly 70 Lawmakers Urge ITC to Reject Safeguard Petition for Solar Imports
A bipartisan group of 16 senators and 53 House lawmakers urged the International Trade Commission Aug. 11 to reject an April Suniva petition to impose “high” tariffs and “high” minimum prices for solar module imports. If the trade case significantly raises solar prices, recent growth in solar investments, installations and jobs could be at risk, according to the senators' letter to ITC Chairwoman Rhonda Schmidtlein, led by Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Reps. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Mike Thompson, D-Calif., Pat Meehan, R-Pa., and Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., led the House letter. “As U.S. Senators representing states that have a growing solar industry, we write to express our deep concern with the pending Section 201 global safeguard case,” the officials wrote. Suniva’s petition seeks four years of duties on solar cells starting at $0.40 per watt, as well as a minimum price for solar modules starting at $0.78 per watt (see 1704260045).
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The lawmakers cited Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)/Solar Foundation statistics that show 9,000 solar companies employed more than 260,000 “American workers” in 2016, and that one out of every 50 jobs added last year was a solar job. The Section 201 case could jeopardize further workforce development, the lawmakers said. “Solar companies in our states believe the requested trade protection would double the price of solar panels,” the senators' letter says. “Increasing costs will stop solar growth dead in its tracks.” SEIA estimates the proposed tariffs could result in the elimination of more than 88,000 solar jobs, according to the letters. The Senate letter says: “As part of the [ITC’s] investigation, we respectfully request that you also consider if the proposed trade remedies would negatively affect the American solar industry.”