Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing a bipartisan bill to prevent Chinese companies from using American taxpayer dollars.
Today, Sens. Ossoff, Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the bipartisan American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act to prevent Chinese companies from using American tax credits designed to accelerate American solar manufacturing.
The new bipartisan bill aims to further strengthen American energy independence and solar manufacturing.
“Our Federal manufacturing incentives are driving historic economic development in Georgia and across the country. As these policies fuel record growth in solar manufacturing, tax incentives shouldn’t be used by Chinese solar companies that threaten our energy security,” Sen. Ossoff said. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to strengthen American energy independence and manufacturing.”
“We cannot allow American tax dollars to go to Chinese companies that cheat and undermine American solar manufacturing. Our bipartisan bill will make sure that only American companies are supported by taxpayer dollars, and support the creation of manufacturing jobs throughout the solar supply chain across Ohio,” said Brown. “We will not allow the Chinese government to take down the American solar manufacturing industry.”
“We want to congratulate Senators Sherrod Brown, Bill Cassidy, Jon Ossoff, and Rick Scott for taking the initiative to ensure a level playing field for American solar manufacturing and protect American taxpayer investments. This bipartisan legislation will ensure Chinese-owned or headquartered solar companies do not have access to U.S. incentives while they receive massive market-distorting subsidies in China, including on many of the components they are building into end products in the U.S. Domestic production of these fundamental components, particularly wafers and polysilicon, is critical to building a robust U.S. solar supply chain and this legislation will help make that a reality,” said Mike Carr, Executive Director of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition.
Sen. Ossoff continues leading efforts in Congress to protect American solar manufacturing from Chinese imports and unfair competition.
Last month, Sens. Ossoff and Brown launched an inquiry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requesting detailed information about how the Biden Administration will enforce provisions designed to prevent importers from evading tariffs by stockpiling solar modules imported during the moratorium that ended on June 6.
In April, Sen. Ossoff pressed the Biden Administration to end the emergency declared in June 2022 that authorized the U.S. Department of Commerce to waive certain duties on solar products manufactured in China and imported from Southeast Asian countries.
In March, Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock successfully pressed the Biden Administration to eliminate the tariff exemption forbifacial modules under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 to boost the competitive advantage of American bifacial module manufacturers.
In February, Sen. Ossoff led a group of Senators pressing the Biden Administration to ensure domestic production of wafers and polysilicon is properly incentivized through the Inflation Reduction Act’s bonus tax credit for domestic content, as intended by Congress, to help American solar manufacturing compete with China.
In January, Sen. Ossoff successfully led a bipartisan group of Senators urging President Biden to increase tariffs on Chinese-made solar module, cell, and wafer imports under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Click here to read the American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act.
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