President Joe Biden issued a rare veto on Tuesday against a bipartisan measure that aims to reinstate tariffs on solar products from Southeast Asian countries after U.S. officials found China companies using these nations to get around trade rules.
The measure passed by the GOP-led House and Democrat-controlled Senate “bets against American innovation,” Biden said in a message from the White House announcing the third veto of his presidency. Biden also said it causes uncertainty for the U.S. solar industry, which is central to the president’s goal of reaching a “carbon-free electricity sector” by 2035.
At issue is a Commerce Department rule that instituted a two-year moratorium on penalties against solar cells and modules exported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. As explained in the Federal Register, Biden authorized the move with a proclamation in June 2022 to “ensure access to a sufficient supply of solar cells and modules to assist in meeting the…