Could Solar Tariffs be on Their Way Out

On January 23rd, 2018, the Trump administration placed tariffs on imported solar cells and modules. These tariffs were set to be active for a period of 4 years. Now that the end of that term is drawing near, the solar industry is pushing hard for these tariffs to be phased out.

What Has Been the Impact of the Tariffs?

There was a positive intention behind the creation of the solar tariffs. By increasing the cost of importing solar equipment, the tariffs could incentivize domestic production and help it become more competitive. 

Unfortunately, the tariffs created challenging conditions that only became more painful once the pandemic began. Building up American solar manufacturing takes time, so the immediate effect was merely to raise the prices of solar hardware, and thus, solar installations as a whole. 

This meant that many homeowners who could once afford to go solar were now priced out. Solar sales leads dropped, putting a great deal of contractors in worse financial shape. Supply chain bottlenecks created by the pandemic were exacerbated by the tariff cost pressures, introducing even more strain. 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates that the tariff imposition has caused the U.S. solar industry to miss out on 62,000+ jobs, $19 billion in private sector investment, and over 10 GW of solar deployment. SEIA’s president, Abigail Hopper, cites that the tariffs have also failed in their goal of jump-starting American solar manufacturing: 

“The U.S. has collected $2.6 billion in Section 201 solar tariffs, but not one cent of that helped the domestic manufacturing industry. In fact, America lost 6,000 solar manufacturing jobs over the last four years when the petitioners promised we’d create more than 45,000 jobs.”

Closing the Chapter on S.201 Tariffs

President Joe Biden is currently assessing whether to renew, revise, or get rid of the tariffs. At a recent USITC hearing on the matter, SEIA testified regarding the failure of the tariff program and imploring the administration to phase it out. 

Biden’s grand clean energy goals have been heavily referenced as reason to discard the tariffs. SEIA argues that they are a major obstacle to achieving the solar-powered energy conversion that has been planned for the coming years. 

Resigning Tariffs Will Boost Solar Sales Leads

For now, solar contractors can only wait and see whether or not the tariffs will continue to drive up the costs of solar. But there is strong optimism that the current pro-climate administration will move to discard them. 

Resulting equipment price drops will go a long way toward facilitating more solar sales. But in the meantime, solar contractors who are struggling to find enough customers can get help from Grid Freedom. As an elite provider of top quality, affordable leads, we’ve helped contractors maintain success even through these tough times.

Find Ready Solar Customers at www.GridFreedom.com