Raise your hand if you want to pay tariffs on the solar panels you buy – in addition to getting tax rebates.

Photo above - The American Association for Solar Manufacturing doesn't have an official logo yet, so I asked AI to make one for them.

Who the heck is the AASMTC? And why do they want tariffs on imported solar panels? Let me guess . . . imported panels are better and less expensive. The AASMTC is the American Association for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. Don't blame yourself if you never heard of them. They're a brand-new coalition of US corporations. One which is dedicated to protecting us from stuff made in China. See link below.

About 90% of the worlds solar panels are made in China, it turns out. (See second link below). The top 5 solar companies are there. Geeze Louise – maybe China IS going to take over the world, and democracy is finished?

The AASMTC is group of 7 US solar panel makers. Collectively, their yearly panel production is about 2% of the world's capacity. Hence, the AASMTC wants tariffs on the 98% of panels made elsewhere. To protect themselves from irrelevance. Wait . . that can't be right. This has to be about American jobs, and energy independence, and a greener, cleaner future, right? This can't possibly be about just getting the government to build a wall to keep out migrant panels and boost corporate profits, can it?

Well, this IS an election year, so anything is possible. Gonna be a tough one for the Biden administration. Hmmm . . . we DO want more solar. Chinese panels ARE cheaper. But those 7 US companies – their workers don't appear to be unionized. What's the end game here? There aren't enough union votes involved to make a red town turn purple. And a lot of the solar manufacturers are in blue states anyway.

I'm NOT predicting the US Commerce Department and President Biden – to whom the corporate tariff petitions were sent – are going to cave on this one. I'm notoriously bad at guessing which way things move if you stir the mud. Congressional hearings? Executive Orders? Bigger solar tax rebates? A requirement that every EV sold in America have an American made solar panel for its roof? I'd vote for that one, personally. I can't understand why we're being baited to buy EVs AND solar panels, but the two inventions don't shake hands on the roof a car.

I'd love it if American solar panel makers zoomed ahead of the competition, creating hundreds of thousands of high paying jobs, and making the world a greener place. But I doubt if that will happen simply by taxing somebody else's panels. We already tax the $hit out of Japanese made pickup trucks, and the only result has been that the F150, Chevy Silverado, and Dodge Ram are approaching $80,000 sticker prices.

I'm just sayin' . . .

US solar manufacturers target China-linked imports in new plea to Biden - POLITICO

The 7 Largest Solar Panel Manufacturers in the World (2024) (theecoexperts.co.uk)