Department of Justice appeals ITC’s Section 201 ruling

The solar industry reacts to appeal after the ITC had reversed a Trump administration move to strengthen Section 201 safeguard duties on certain solar products.

January 17, 2022 Anne Fischer

Image: Pixabay

On Friday January 14, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the U.S. Court of International Trade’s Section 201 ruling that struck down the Trump administration’s effort to raise solar tariffs.

To say that this is a disappointment to the solar industry is an understatement. Back in November of 2021, The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has determined that tariffs continue to be necessary for U.S. industry producing crystalline silicon PV cells.

In a guest column for pv magazine in November, Brian Lynch, director of solar sales for LG Electronics USA wrote, that opposition to the tariffs in 2018 highlighted the possibility for project cancellations and lost jobs if the tariffs were to be imposed. He wrote that at a macro level, “the solar industry has exceeded every forecast during the period of the tariffs in every category— from megawatts deployed to jobs created.”

(Read “ITC says Section 201 tariffs should be extended”.)

In response to the recent appeal by the DOJ, John Smirnow, General Counsel and VP of Market Strategy for SEIA said, “We are disappointed that the Department of Justice has appealed the Court of International Trade’s ruling. Continuing this legal fight in light of the history of the case is another government misstep in this long and tortured saga and provides no benefit to the American workers, public, or clean energy goals.”

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