WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following is a statement from John Smirnow, vice president of market strategy and general counsel at the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on the August 2, 2021 Section 201 petition:

“There are no two ways about it. It is time to end the job-killing Section 201 solar tariffs. They are a multibillion dollar drag on industry growth. And leading domestic panel manufacturers are thriving, both here in America and globally. If we hope to reach our ambitious climate goals, we must accelerate solar deployment, not hinder it with unnecessarily punitive trade measures.

“The way to create more U.S. manufacturing is long-term federal investments, not shortsighted tariffs. Indeed, SEIA is advocating for a suite of federal policy options designed to provide demand certainty, leverage private sector capital investments and provide ongoing production support as gaps are filled in the domestic solar supply chain. We’ve also set a target of 50GW of solar manufacturing capacity by 2030. That would go a long way toward creating a robust solar manufacturing supply chain, but we won’t get there with a simplistic and ineffective trade policy.”

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