Press Releases
DelBene, Larsen, Murray Call on Biden to Boost Washington Clean Energy Jobs, Manufacturing by Easing Trade Barriers on Solar Products
Kirkland, WA,
June 9, 2021
Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02), and Senator Patty Murray urged the Biden administration to strengthen domestic solar manufacturing and boost clean energy jobs in Washington state by easing import restrictions on solar panels and cells. In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the lawmakers requested the administration exempt Canadian solar panels from Trump-era tariffs and ease restrictions on imported solar cells, allowing for more solar panel production in the U.S. These adjustments would allow for more Canadian investment in U.S. solar manufacturing and help meet the increasing U.S. demand for solar panels. “Eliminating the safeguard tariff on Canadian solar modules and increasing the [tariff-rate quota] on solar cells would boost solar manufacturing jobs in Washington state. These actions would also support the Biden administration’s forward-leaning policies on clean energy and climate change and help strengthen U.S.-Canada trade relations,” the lawmakers wrote. For example, Ontario-based Silfab Solar has invested more than $43 million since 2018 to expand a solar panel manufacturing facility in Bellingham. This year, Silfab plans to invest an additional $30 million to expand into a new manufacturing facility in Burlington, supporting 92 good-paying jobs in Washington. However, if the changes the lawmakers are requesting are made, it would allow the company to increase capital investments, supporting more than 200 additional jobs at the facility. The U.S. cannot meet the current demand for solar production domestically. Allowing for more Canadian solar panels in the U.S. avoids the alternative: panels from China with far weaker labor and environmental standards. Two reports from the U.S. International Trade Commission (here and here), a nonpartisan federal agency in charge of investigating trade claims, found that Canadian imports were not a threat to the U.S. industry and that increasing the tariff-rate quotas on solar cells would boost domestic production of solar panels and lead to a substantial increase in employment without harming domestic producers. The full letter can be found here.
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