President Obama also tried tariffs to save our solar industry. China retaliated and took it all.

Joe Biden's tariffs of 50% on imported Chinese solar panels has been tried before. In 2012, President Obama slapped tariffs up to 249% on solar imports from China, in an effort to save his signature energy plan.

China retaliated by putting slapping import restrictions on polysilicon imports from the US. At the time, the United States had 50% of the global market share on polysilicon, which was shipped to foundries in China to be turned into ingots, a key component in solar panel manufacturing. But the higher costs of US polysilicon quickly made our producers uncompetitive, and demand collapsed. Now the US stands at under 5% of that market.

President Biden faces the same dilemma: his green energy plan is falling apart, under the weight of low-cost Chinese competition. In levying the tariffs, the White House insists that the moves are not inflationary, and Treasury Secretary Yellen expressed confidence that no Chinese retaliation is forthcoming. It's all going to be different, this time.

Resources and links:

Biden’s Solar Factory Boom Slows as Cheap Imports Flood Market
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

Report, Clean Energy Investing in America
https://cleanpower.org/investing-in-a...

CNBC, Biden raises tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese imports: EVs, solar panels, batteries and more
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/14/biden...

Bloomberg, US sets anti-dumping duties on China solar imports
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

White House, George Bush signs comprehensive green energy plan into law
https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archiv...

Bloomberg, Yellen Hopes China Doesn’t Mount ‘Significant’ Trade Retaliation
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...