Trump raises solar tariff and removes bifacial exemption

President Trump released a proclamation this weekend stating that the tariff on imported solar panels will go up from 15% to 18% beginning in February 2021. Also, bifacial modules, which had been granted a full exemption in June 2019, will be taxed the full amount. He stated that the exemption undermined the objective of boosting domestic solar manufacturing. SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper countered that the decision will jeopardize clean energy jobs and impede economic recovery in the face of COVID-19. She said, “We…will be talking with leaders in the next administration, regardless of who is president, about the harm of solar tariffs in the context of the COVID pandemic, a threatened economy and a critical need to address climate change.”