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**JANUARY 30, 2023**
Kuttner on TAP
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**** Biden's Mixed Signals on Chinese Solar
Meet Bipartisan Pushback
Lawmakers are challenging Biden's order protecting imports of Chinese
solar panels.
Last June, after extensive lobbying by solar installers and domestic
producers reliant on Chinese supply chains, President Biden issued a
"Solar Declaration of Emergency
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order. Biden's order countermanded a pending Commerce Department
investigation on illegal Chinese circumvention of anti-dumping tariffs,
and gave Chinese solar panels a two-year waiver from tariffs otherwise
required by U.S. law.
The Commerce Department went ahead with the investigation and found that
China, as alleged, was indeed moving production offshore to Cambodia,
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, using made-in-China parts, to evade
U.S. tariffs. But Biden's order remains in effect for two years,
allowing these panels to enter the U.S. tariff-free.
Now, a large bipartisan group led by Democrat Dan Kildee
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of Michigan and five others has introduced a resolution to reverse
Biden's order under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows
Congress to reverse a federal rule by a simple majority. The others are
Bill Posey (R-FL), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Bob Latta (R-OH), Terri Sewell
(D-AL), and Garret Graves (R-LA).
A CRA resolution requires only a simple majority, but is subject to a
presidential veto. Kildee claims that he has a veto-proof majority in
the House, but the Senate could be rougher going.
At the very least, this is a major embarrassment for Biden, as his
administration seeks to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains.
Biden's order also violates the intent of the Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act.
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As the
**Prospect**'s David Dayen has previously reported
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the moving force behind Biden's order was the Solar Energy Industries
Association, an ostensibly domestic lobbying group whose members include
several Chinese-controlled companies as well as U.S. companies heavily
reliant on Chinese inputs. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that China is
considering a ban on exports
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of the technology used to make solar wafers; China dominates global
supply with 97 percent market share. It's another reason to accelerate
reshoring of solar supply chains.
Today's
**Wall Street Journal** published an investigative piece showing that
China's top nuclear weapons research institute
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was able to circumvent the long-standing ban on exports of the most
advanced U.S.-produced or -designed semiconductors, purchasing chips
made by Intel and Nvidia, presumably from third-party sources. Export
controls are hard to enforce. By comparison, enforcing tariffs on
sanctioned imports is relatively easy-if the president of the United
States is serious about heroic efforts to advance domestic supply chains
and doesn't undermine his own policy.
~ ROBERT KUTTNER
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Presidential Document Scandals Should Take Down America's Secrecy
Industry
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We classify way too many documents. Unfortunately, that will probably
not be the takeaway from recent events. BY DAVID DAYEN
Restoring Workers' Freedoms
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A recent proposal to ban noncompete agreements begins to reverse the
erosion of worker power in America. BY HAROLD MEYERSON
Ukraine's Neoliberal War Mobilization
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Low taxes, privatization, and pared-back labor protections could
undermine Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. BY LUKE COOPER
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