Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown calls on president to clamp down on solar panel dumping

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by: Patty Coller

Posted: Apr 26, 2023 / 05:01 PM EDT

Updated: Apr 26, 2023 / 05:01 PM EDT

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Just as Columbiana County commissioners are considering expanding a ban on solar panel farms in more communities in the county, lawmakers are looking to stop solar panel dumping in the United States.

Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced Wednesday that he will vote in favor of congressional action to overturn the Biden Administration's suspension of tariffs on Chisense solar product importers.

Brown said that according to information released by the Department of Commerce, Chinese solar panel producers – operating in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – are circumventing U.S. trade law meant to protect American businesses and workers by routing their products through Southeast Asia.

"The Chinese government will do anything to undermine American manufacturing and would like nothing more than to kill the American solar manufacturing industry before it takes off. Ohio is ready to lead in the manufacturing industries of the future – we must not put that progress at risk," Brown said. "The president got this one wrong. I’ve always stood up to presidents of both parties to fight for fair trade and a level playing field for Ohio workers, which is why I will support congressional action to end the Administration's waiver of solar tariffs."

In May 2022, Brown called for an investigation into Chinese solar companies, which he said revealed that four solar-cell manufacturers circumvented U.S. tariffs by routing some of their operations through Southeast Asia.

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