wvp. Washington ⋅ President Joe Biden is trying to revive stalled solar projects across the country by promising a two-year tariff-free import of solar panels from four Asian countries. Developers across the country halted projects after the Commerce Department launched a tariff investigation that would have resulted in heavy punitive tariffs under normal circumstances. Investors jumped into solar projects, while Asian companies suspended supplies. Market watchers estimated that up to two-thirds of all plans had been shelved or called off because of pricing uncertainty. The background to this is that the American government suspects China of using the Asian countries to force solar modules onto the American market below production prices and to avoid dumping tariff surcharges that have been in force since the Obama administration.
However, the ambitious expansion plans for solar energy in the United States depend on the targeted supplier countries of Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The lobby organization of the American solar industry “Solar Energy Industries Association” praises the decision of the President. The Biden government is in a dilemma because it wants to revive domestic production at the same time. In order to support them anyway, Biden is once again resorting to the Defense Production Act. Passed in 1950 during the Korean War, the law allows the President to order companies to prioritize certain orders. Previously, the President had already used the War Management Act to secure powdered milk for infant formula and to support the manufacture of rare materials needed for batteries.