The Biden administration is expected to grant a request by South Korea’s Hanwha Qcells to reverse a two-year-old trade exemption that has allowed imports of a dominant solar panel technology from China and other countries to avoid tariffs. The Qcells request comes as the company is seeking to protect its $2.5 billion expansion of its U.S. solar manufacturing presence against competition from cheaper Asian-made products. This move to impose duties on imports of bifacial panels, the main technology in utility-scale solar projects, is seen as a positive development for the more than 40 solar equipment factories planned since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.
The decision to reverse the trade exemption is expected to benefit the U.S. solar industry, which has been sharply divided on past trade remedies. While the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) lobbied for the bifacial exemption initially, there is now a call to increase the amount of solar cells that can be imported tariff-free to support domestic manufacturing of solar modules. The Biden administration, led by officials like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, is evaluating trade remedies to address threats from China’s massive investment in clean energy goods. This action reflects Biden’s commitment to transforming the U.S. energy economy and combating climate change.
The request from Qcells is backed by seven other solar manufacturers with U.S. factories like First Solar, Heliene, and Suniva. The move to revoke the exemption on bifacial panels is seen as necessary to support new U.S. solar manufacturing capacity that has been catalyzed by incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act. While the decision has not been finalized, the potential reversal of the trade exemption is expected to level the playing field for American solar manufacturers and create more opportunities in the domestic market.
