Defend Solar USA Alliance

Support the Bipartisan American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act

American taxpayer dollars should not be handed out to Chinese solar companies. Yet, without action from Congress, it is estimated that Chinese-controlled companies could pocket more than $100 billion in federal tax credits designed to support U.S. clean-energy manufacturers.

Congress must pass the bipartisan American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act to block Chinese solar manufacturers from taking advantage of federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Congress cannot allow tax dollars to go to Chinese companies that are violating trade laws and destroying American solar manufacturing.

Our Mission

A robust American solar manufacturing industry is essential to delivering on the promise of new clean energy jobs, establishing American energy independence, and meeting our climate goals.

Today, however, China is violating U.S. trade laws and could pocket billions in American tax dollars to put American solar manufacturers out of business and lock-in a dangerous global monopoly that is harming American workers and setting the U.S. down an unsustainable path.

It’s time Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration defend America’s solar industry and force China to play by the rules.

“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.”

Senator John Osoff

“Communist China has been working to circumvent U.S. laws and undermine American manufacturers in the solar industry for years under the Biden/Harris administration, harming our national security and energy independence. I’ve been fighting to close this unfair practice and prevent the U.S. government from sending any U.S. tax dollars to prop up the Communist Chinese regime, one of our biggest adversaries, and I’m glad to continue those efforts with the American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act.”

Senator Rick Scott

“If you don’t push back on Chinese subsidies, you lose your industry. This is not solvable. This is the nature of their system.”

Former U.S. trade negotiator Jeff Moon

“Chinese industrial capacity is currently leading to production that significantly exceeds global demand in key sectors, including electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar. This poses a threat to the development of clean energy industries around the world.”

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen

“American workers and American businesses should be building our clean energy economy, but Chinese companies are working overtime to cheat the rules, our economy, and our workers out of the job.”

Senator Tammy Baldwin

“The bottom line is China wants to kill the American solar industry. I’ll say that again: China wants to kill the American solar industry.”

Senator Sherrod Brown

“Despite significant investment, robust demand, and a growing workforce, American workers cannot compete when the deck is stacked against them so severely. Effective enforcement of our trade laws to level the playing field for domestic manufacturers will help counter unfairly traded solar products, promote U.S. production, support good-paying jobs, increase energy independence, and strengthen our national security.”

Joint Letter from Republican Representatives Claudia Tenney, Clay Higgins, Carol Miller, Jody Arrington, Thomas Keen, Jr., and Marionette Miller-Meeks, M.D

“China’s aggressive subsidies for its own solar manufacturing industry demonstrate its intent to control the industry globally. By 2026, China will have enough capacity to meet annual global demand for the next ten years. This capacity is an existential threat to the U.S. solar industry and American energy security. […] We must not allow China to destroy U.S. manufacturing and control this strategic energy sector.”

Joint Letter from Senators Sherrod Brown (D), Marco Rubio (R), Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D)

Why it Matters?

Protecting American Jobs

The U.S. solar industry is creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs with potential for massive growth. If all U.S. developers sourced 55 percent of their manufactured solar goods domestically, the solar manufacturing industry would support 900,000 American jobs by 2035.

However, this future is in serious jeopardy. Chinese companies are actively manipulating the global solar market – dumping solar panels often made with forced labor into the American market at depressed prices to drive American manufacturers out of business. American solar manufacturers have been forced to file a petition with the U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission asking them to finally enforce our antidumping laws against China’s illegal conduct.

To make matters worse – unless we act to stop it – Chinese companies could even collect $125 billion in federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act that were intended to grow America’s clean energy manufacturing industry.

Establishing Energy Independence

Energy independence is a cornerstone of national security. By building a successful domestic solar industry, the U.S. can break from its reliance on foreign energy sources — reducing our vulnerability to supply disruptions and geopolitical conflicts.

However, if China is successful in its effort to lock in a monopoly in solar manufacturing and destroy America’s domestic solar manufacturing capacity, we will be one pandemic or international dispute away from losing access to this critical source of energy. As Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned, “This isn’t a level playing field. And from a supply chain standpoint, I think it creates risks that we’re clearly seeking to mitigate and it’s also unfair to our workers and firms.”

Achieving Climate Goals

Manufacturing solar in America is essential to reaching our climate goals faster.

With solar expected to make up 40 percent of American energy output by 2035, the U.S. must have a strong domestic solar manufacturing base. Bringing the solar supply chain back to the U.S. could cut 30 percent of global solar manufacturing emissions. Chinese solar products have a much higher carbon footprint due to their production in factories that are powered by coal-fired electricity. We cannot transition to green energy using dirty coal from China.

We cannot leave our clean energy future in the hands of a foreign adversary. To meet our climate goals, we need to onshore the solar supply chain and stop China’s attacks on America’s domestic solar manufacturing capacity.

Solutions

Congress must protect our taxpayer dollars by passing the Bipartisan American Tax Dollars for American Solar Manufacturing Act to ensure that Chinese companies and other foreign entities of concern do not take advantage of the 45X clean energy tax credits intended to boost American manufacturing. The Biden-Harris Administration must also tighten the “domestic content” rules that determine how much of a solar panel must be made by American workers in order to benefit from American tax credits.

It is equally important that the government enforce our existing trade laws. The Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission must follow the facts and enforce the law in the antidumping cases filed by the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee.