WASHINGTON, D.C. — On April 28, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) voted yes on the Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval (H.J. Res. 39) to overturn a Biden Administration executive order and hold Chinese solar companies accountable for violating our trade laws.
The resolution—which Congressman Deluzio cosponsored in February—that passed the House today would overturn the suspension of tariffs on Chinese solar products that are illegally funneled through other Asian countries. The tariffs were set in 2012 after the Obama Administration determined that China was dumping cheap solar materials in the U.S. market. Last year, a Department of Commerce investigation found that Chinese companies were circumventing the tariffs by deceptively moving manufacturing operations to four other Asian countries. Evading U.S. trade laws would normally lead to penalties on the companies, but the Biden Administration froze these tariffs last June. The temporary waiver of these tariffs encourages the import of cheap solar materials from China, undermining American manufacturing. This resolution overturns the policy that prevents us from holding Chinese companies that violate our trade laws accountable.
“Western Pennsylvania was hit hard by lousy trade deals shipping our manufacturing jobs all over the planet,” said Rep. Deluzio. “We should be making more stuff in America, and we shouldn’t be letting the Chinese Communist Party and its business elite cheat and skirt our trade laws to undercut American manufacturing and our workers.”
Congressman Deluzio and other supporters of the measure say the two-year suspension allows Chinese producers to avoid U.S. trade laws—hurting American workers and manufacturers—and prolongs an unfavorable market for domestic businesses trying to build a U.S. solar supply chain.
The resolution was introduced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), a procedural law that allows Congress to reverse federal agency rules.
Just last week, Congressman Deluzio was proud to announce a $1.6 million investment into western Pennsylvania’s solar industry. The grant is awarded to Vitro Flat Glass, in Cheswick PA, and will improve CdTe module power output through use of a high-performance glass on which a solar panel is built.
“America can once again be the manufacturing giant of the world, and investing in our solar supply chain can help us get there,” said Rep. Deluzio. “From component supply chains to production to recycling, solar panels—and the jobs they create—will be a huge part of our nation’s energy future. I am thrilled that Western Pennsylvania’s Vitro Flat Glass in Cheswick, in my district, is slated to receive $1.6 million in federal funds to strengthen our domestic solar panel industry through the development of new technologies and processes.”
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