Kaptur rebukes president over solar policies

By: 
Press Staff Writer

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is again at odds with the Biden administration over manufacturing and trade policies.
Last week, Rep. Kaptur issued a statement rebuking a decision by the administration and Treasury Department to allow Chinese made solar subcomponents to be used in solar technology billed as American made.
The Treasury Department, in a recent policy guidance statement, said solar project developers will qualify for a 10 percent additional domestic content bonus tax credit for using solar panels manufactured in the U.S. – even if the solar panels incorporate silicon wafers imported from foreign countries.
Kaptur’s statement included a reference to a report by the International Energy Alliance last year that said China accounted for 97 percent of global silicon wafer production.
“I have long fought for American energy manufacturing and an all-of-the-above energy strategy that moves us toward energy independence, but it is hard to understand this decision by the Biden administration that seeks to reward those who offshore jobs in China and elsewhere,” Kaptur said. “The administration must not allow China to undercut domestic manufacturers and the workers who power them with our own tax code. This new interpretation of the ‘domestic content’ bonus established as part of the Inflation Reduction Act rewards those who cut corners, offshore jobs, and buy cheaper components produced in China. When a product is given the benefit of being called American made, that should include all stages and steps in the production process.”
Last month, Kaptur voted in favor of a resolution disapproving the Biden administration’s 2-year suspension of import tariffs on companies that circumvent U.S. trade laws by funneling solar cells and modules manufactured in China through four Southeast Asian countries – Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last December concluded an investigation and determined that four companies are circumventing the tariffs by moving solar cells and modules made in China through the four countries.
By suspending the tariffs the Biden administration has given China “a pass to flagrantly flout U.S. trade laws, undercut American manufacturers, and harm American workers,” Kaptur said.
Senator Sherrod Brown was also critical of President Biden’s veto of the resolution.
“The president got this one wrong,” said Brown last week. “I’ll never stop fighting for fair trade and a level playing field for Ohio manufacturing and Ohio workers - no matter who the president is.”

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