House passes bipartisan bill to repeal Biden’s moratorium on solar panel tariffs

The GOP-led House on Friday passed a bipartisan measure to reinstate tariffs on solar panel imports.

The vote was 221-201, with 12 Democrats joining a majority of Republicans in passing the resolution. Eight House Republicans voted with the majority of Democrats. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith celebrated the passage, saying on Twitter that President Biden, who stopped the tariffs, has been giving China a "free pass" on solar panel imports for the past two years.

The bill faces tougher odds of being passed in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but its bipartisan support in the lower chamber suggests it has some possibility of passage. 

The White House has already warned that Biden would veto such legislation if it came to his desk.

In 2022, Biden issued a moratorium on solar panel tariffs for four Southeast Asian countries, despite their having Chinese-owned manufacturing plants. The move, some lawmakers argued, could be a way for China to dodge U.S. trade laws and give them an unfair advantage. 

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