US President Joe Biden vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have restored tariffs on solar panels from Southeast Asia.
The White House said the veto, only the third in Biden’s presidency, will help maintain the supply chain as solar installations — and domestic solar panel production — ramp up in the US.
In June 2022, the White House granted 24-month waivers exempting duties on panels made in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Imports from those countries account for roughly 80% of solar panels used in the US, Reuters reported.
The Trump administration imposed the tariffs in 2018, contributing to a supply chain shortage that led to hundreds of solar projects being delayed or canceled outright, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA, an industry lobbying group.
Some 20% of planned solar projects were delayed in the first half of 2022, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration.
A resolution passed by Congress this month with bipartisan support would have reinstated those duties, which sponsors say are necessary to keep America’s solar industry competitive.
