Ruling Clears the Way for Retroactive Tariffs on Billions in Illegally Imported Chinese Solar Equipment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today applauded the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) for ruling that the Biden administration’s two-year suspension of solar duty collections was unlawful. The decision paves the way for retroactive tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in solar gear imported from Southeast Asia—tariffs that were deliberately blocked by the Biden White House to benefit China’s solar industry and its lobbyists in Washington.
“The CIT’s ruling confirms what CPA has said all along: the Biden administration’s solar moratorium was blatantly illegal, shamefully pro-China, and devastating to America’s solar manufacturing base,” said Jon Toomey, President of CPA. “For two years, the administration chose to side with the CCP and pro-China organizations like the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) rather than with American workers and manufacturers. The Court’s decision finally brings accountability, ensures billions in illegally suspended duties will be collected, and sends a strong signal that the U.S. must never again give China a free pass to dump subsidized solar products into our market.”
CPA strongly opposed the Biden solar moratorium from the outset, warning that it would eviscerate U.S. solar manufacturing. After the moratorium was implemented, CPA led the fight to repeal the action by working with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress. Despite the House and Senate passing bipartisan legislation to repeal the moratorium, President Biden vetoed it.
Earlier this year, CPA released a landmark U.S. Solar Supply Chain Report showing how the moratorium allowed China to tighten its stranglehold on the global solar industry by laundering panels through Southeast Asia. CPA’s Economics Team also modeled the revenue impact of the moratorium, showing that retroactive collection of the suspended duties would result in billions in tariff revenue—funds that should have supported American industry rather than subsidized Beijing’s market dominance.
Now that the CIT has ruled, the Trump administration must act swiftly to ensure the retroactive duties are collected in full.
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