Over 50 House Republicans urge Trump administration to block Chinese solar inverter imports

More than 50 House Republicans are urging the Trump administration to prohibit the import of solar and battery energy storage inverters manufactured by companies from “foreign entities of concern” (FEOCs).

November 17, 2025 Ryan Kennedy

Image: AgainErick / Wikimedia Commons CC SA 4.0

A letter, sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and signed by over 50 House Republicans requests the prohibition of imports of solar and battery energy storage imports from “foreign entities of concern” (FEOC), which mainly impacts Chinese businesses.

The House Republicans contend that current U.S. policy has not adequately addressed national security vulnerabilities within the energy technology supply chain.

The lawmakers argue that the use of critical grid technologies sourced from China poses unacceptable public safety, economic, and national security risks. The letter specifically references a May report from Reuters of “rogue” hardware components discovered in Chinese-made inverters as evidence of potential security threats.

“We respectfully request that the Department of Commerce exercise its authorities to restrict the future importation of such Chinese equipment and inverters for U.S. critical infrastructure,” said the letter.

Current legislation, including the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” already prohibits tax credits for projects utilizing components from FEOCs. However, the Republican letter argues these existing measures do not go far enough to secure the grid infrastructure itself from potential manipulation or espionage.

An import ban on inverters would likely disrupt project timelines in the near term as the industry adapts to a constrained supply of compliant products, potentially increasing costs. The push underscores the tension between securing national infrastructure and maintaining the pace of U.S. clean energy deployment.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.