Senate set for bipartisan rebuke of Biden on solar tariffs

Congress is poised to repudiate President Biden on solar panel tariffs, and this time, some of his most reliable Senate allies on climate issues are on board. 

On Wednesday, the Senate is set to vote on its version of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution undoing Biden’s two-year pause on solar import tariffs. The House passed the resolution last week with bipartisan support, and with at least four Democratic senators committed to the measure, it’s likely to pass the upper chamber. 

The bill’s Democratic votes include Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has repeatedly joined Republicans to vote for energy-related CRA resolutions this session of Congress and is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats in the 2024 election. Another yes vote, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), has bucked the president less often but also faces a steep reelection fight in a red state. 

However, it’s also drawn the support of Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), consistent voters for Biden’s environmental agenda.  

“I support full enforcement of U.S laws that defend American workers and manufacturers against trade cheating, especially when it comes to clean energy,” Wyden said in a statement to The Hill. “Suspending tariffs on Chinese solar cells and modules that have been determined by the Department of Commerce to be circumventing U.S. trade laws will make America less competitive in the clean energy economy.” 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who co-sponsored the Senate version of the resolution with Manchin, framed the resolution as a rebuke to China on human rights issues, suggesting to The Hill the Wednesday vote may see more Democratic defections. Scott said he was not surprised the resolution secured support from Wyden, adding “I think every Democrat ought to come on board … anyone who says they support human rights and they care about American jobs.” 

Casey and Brown have been urging Biden to end the tariff freeze since March, when the two Democrats wrote to the White House saying the duties are necessary to preserve American competitiveness.  

“In order to build our domestic solar panel and solar panel component manufacturing capacity, the U.S. government must stand strong in its commitment to protect and promote domestic workers and industry,” they wrote.  

Since the beginning of this session, Congress has invoked the CRA, which allows a bare majority in both chambers to roll back a federal rule on several occasions. The CRA has so far been invoked against a Labor Department rule on green investment and an EPA standard for emissions from heavy-duty trucks. 

However, in the case of the Labor Department rule, only Manchin and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) crossed the aisle, while in the case of the truck rule, Manchin was the only Democratic vote, while Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was not present for the vote. A scenario in which four Democrats and every Republican back the resolution would mark uncharted territory for use of the CRA against Biden’s energy agenda. 

It’s unclear whether any Republican senators will oppose the resolution undoing the pause on tariffs. Eight Republicans voted against the version that passed the House, but every CRA that has cleared the Senate this session has done so with every Republican voting in favor. 

The likely passage has sparked dismay among both the solar industry and its allies in the Senate, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who has said reinstating the tariffs early will prevent the U.S. from building up solar infrastructure. Rosen led an open letter Wednesday signed by nine Senate Democrats in opposition to the CRA. 

“Our current domestic solar manufacturing can only meet about 15 percent of demand,” they wrote. “As we work to bolster our manufacturing capabilities here at home, we must temporarily rely on these imported panels to satisfy our domestic demand and support American solar jobs.” 

Another of the signers, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), told The Hill he was not particularly surprised the resolution has attracted this level of bipartisan support, but added “I think the key thing is, at the end of the day, the veto is what counts,” Whitehouse said. 

“It’s mainly just punitive and will have no benefit to the industry,” John Smirnow, senior vice president of supply chains and sustainability at the Solar Energies Industry Association, told The Hill. “It’s not going to create new manufacturing jobs, it’s not going to result in the sale of more U.S. panels; it’s going to kill jobs and cost the industry at least a billion dollars in retroactive tariffs.” 

The immediate impact of ending the moratorium, Smirnow said, would be to inject uncertainty into the market at a time when the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act are beginning to take effect and the tariffs pause is already halfway over.  

“To blow that up now is just nonsensical,” he said.  

Biden has already made clear he will veto the resolution, saying in a statement the suspension is “necessary to satisfy the demand for reliable and clean energy while ensuring Commerce is able to rigorously enforce U.S. trade laws, hold trading partners accountable, and defend U.S. industries and workers from unfair trade actions.” 

“Passage of this joint resolution would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for jobs and investments in the solar supply chain and the solar installation market,” the White House added.