US lawmakers seek to block Chinese companies from solar manufacturing subsidies

(Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would prevent Chinese solar panel makers from claiming subsidies for their American factories.

WHY DOES IT MATTER

The American Solar Manufacturing Tax Dollars Act was introduced at a time when some of the world’s largest solar panel producers, based in China, are establishing factories in the United States. Its facilities are supported by new tax credits created by President Joe Biden’s landmark climate change law, the Reducing Inflation Act of 2022.

The Biden administration has sought to increase job-creating U.S. investment in clean energy but is desperate to avoid overdependence on geopolitical rival China.

Some U.S. solar equipment makers have said they find it difficult to compete against a flood of cheap imports and are worried about China’s outsized presence in the global market.

KEY QUOTE

“We cannot allow American tax dollars to go to Chinese companies that cheat and undermine American solar production,” Senator Sherrod Brownan Ohio Democrat said in a statement.

Brown’s legislation was co-sponsored by fellow Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and two Republican senators — Rick Scott of Florida and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Diane Craft)