The House of Representatives passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution on Friday to overturn a Biden administration policy that paused tariffs on imported solar panels.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have brought forward resolutions to overturn the Biden administration’s tariff policy. Supporters of these resolutions have argued that the Biden administration’s policy makes the U.S. energy industry less competitive and incentivizes Chinese firms to simply route their products through other countries in order to duck U.S. tariffs.
“The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday.
Biden Vows Veto
Even if the CRA resolutions do pass both houses of Congress, the Biden White House already indicated earlier this week that he would veto such measures. The White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy on Monday, stating his opposition to the House resolution of disapproval against his tariff policies.The White House said that Biden has been working “from day one” to help grow jobs in the solar energy industry in the United States and onshore the supply chain for the solar energy industry.
“However,” the White House said, “these investments will take time to ramp up production—which is why last spring, the President declared an emergency to ensure that Americans have access to reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.”
The White House said the tariff waiver “is necessary to satisfy the demand for reliable and clean energy while ensuring Commerce is able to rigorously enforce U.S. trade laws, hold trading partners accountable, and defend U.S. industries and workers from unfair trade actions.”
“Passage of this joint resolution would undermine these efforts and create deep uncertainty for jobs and investments in the solar supply chain and the solar installation market,” the White House added.
If the CRA resolutions clear both House of Congress and Biden does issue a veto, it would take two-thirds of both the House and the Senate to override Biden’s veto. If Friday’s vote on H.J. Res. 39 is any indication of who would support an override effort, it is unlikely that lawmakers would be able to defeat Biden’s veto.
Biden has issued two other vetoes so far in his presidency.