President Joe Biden vetoed a bipartisan resolution that sought to reinstate tariffs on imports of solar panels manufactured in several Southeast Asian countries to protect U.S. manufacturers from Chinese competition.
According to the president, the legislation "bets against American innovation." However, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about unfair competition from China in this area.
Biden had already implemented a two-year tariff exemption for solar panels manufactured in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, with the justification of boosting domestic manufacturing.
But some U.S. manufacturers claim that China is moving its operations to these four countries to circumvent U.S. regulations. Even the Commerce Department warned that it found possible trade violations related to Chinese products. Because of this a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Florida Republican Representative Bill Posey and his Michigan Democratic colleague Dan Kildee introduced a resolution to overturn Biden's executive action.
The resolution passed the House by a vote of 221-202 and in the Senate it also went forward with 56 votes in favor. But with the President's veto, the suspension of tariffs could continue at least until June 2024.
Biden vetoes legislation to block solar panel tariffs waivers https://t.co/ovSniG17yL pic.twitter.com/QddeyJYn35
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 16, 2023
"Failing to stand up to those who engage in unfair trade practices hurts American workers and manufacturers. Our workers and businesses will never be able to compete globally unless we hold accountable those who violate U.S. trade laws," said the legislator. Kildee.
The representative explained that this resolution was no longer a partisan proposal, since it was approved with broad support from both Republicans and Democrats, and he invited his colleagues to vote once again to override the President's veto. "The president's position, and today's veto, fails to hold China accountable and hurts American workers (...) Congress should vote once again to override today's veto without delay," he said.
