Swarna Shukla –
Published On: November 17, 2021 at 21:30 IST
The United States Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a decision that mentions an exclusion of bifacial solar modules from Section 201 tariffs.
The exclusion originally was extended in 2019, but later was revoked by the Trump Administration in an October 2020 proclamation.
The Court found that while Trump’s proclamation complied with procedural requirements of the safeguard statute, the action was outside of the president’s concerned authority. The Court’s Order effectively reinstated an earlier exemption from tariffs for bifacial modules.
Besides, the Court’s decision reduced the Section 201 Tariff rate from 18% to 15% after it was raised as part of Proclamation 10101. Both actions resulted in refunds of the tariffs that had been collected under the proclamation.
Donald Trump’s action was based on “A clear misconstruction” of Federal Trade Statutes, which would have allowed the former President to lift tariffs but not enact new restrictions, the Court observed. On February, 17 U.S. clean energy CEOs urged President Joe Biden to repeal the solar tariff proclamation, which the leaders called “punitive” and “ill-conceived.”
The Solar Energy Industries Association also cheered when the Commerce Department denied a Petition for new tariffs on three Southeast Asian countries’ solar panels and cells, saying the Petitioner — an unknown group of solar manufacturers — hadn’t provided strong reasons for remaining unknown.
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