The Solar Industry Throws a “Tantrum”

The U.S. Department of Commerce has been conducting an anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) tariff case involving companies in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. These companies were accused of colluding with China to skirt tariffs placed on Chinese solar panels. They do so by performed minor finishing work to feign that the panels were manufactured outside of China.

Nice try.

What a surprise – the Chinese not playing fair.

The movie Casablanca comes to mind. Specifically, the scene where Claude Rains’ character – Police Captain Renault – emphatically states, “I’m shocked, shock, to find out that gambling is going on in here!” Then he collects his gambling winnings.

Equally shocking is that industry leaders were appalled by the ruling.

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I’m a crusader of some sort – think again. I’ve been a firm believer in capitalism longer than most of the people reading this have been on the planet. But I also a believe in playing the game fairly.

China doesn’t, and I applaud the government for taking action, even though it may create headwinds for its clean energy goals.

A preliminary finding was released last December. It concluded that the companies did violate the tariffs. This month’s final ruling varied only slightly from the original finding. I haven’t delved into the minutia of the case, but I assume the government did its homework, and then did the right thing.

The industry on the other hand should be ashamed of itself. The following quote from President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Abigail Ross Hopper, the largest solar industry trade association illustrates:

“The US Department of Commerce is out of step with the administration’s clean energy goals, and we fundamentally disagree with their decision. Auxin Solar’s allegations of circumvention were meritless from the beginning and the inquiries have caused uncertainty in the US market at a time when solar energy is on the rise.”

 The first part of the quote is accurate. The ruling is in contradiction to the Biden administration’s climate goals. And it’s fine to disagree with the decision. I would expect no less.

However, I draw the line in claiming that the allegations were “meritless from the beginning.”

So, I suppose the Commerce Department just wanted to stick a finger in the eye of the Department of Energy. Is that right?

My message to the industry: Grow up. You’re reaping healthy profits based on federal and state subsidies, and you’re going to throw a tantrum because you might have to pay a bit more for solar panels?

I guess right and wrong don’t come into play here.

Well, it does for me. The only beef I have is that – in a concession to the industry – the President signed an executive order waiving the tariffs until June 2024.