A U.S. judge rejects Trump’s tariffs on imported solar panels

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NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge handling trade issues on Tuesday overturned then -President Donald Trump’s decision to allow the re -imposition of tariffs on some imported solar panels.

Judge Gary Katzmann’s decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade was a defeat for some domestic manufacturers.

It came a year after he ruled that Trump’s proclamation in October 2020 to revoke a tariff exemption for double-sided, or bifacial, solar panels did not violate an earlier court order.

Trump’s proclamation is a “clear misconstruction” of a law that allows measures to liberalize rather than restrict trade, and “constitutes an action outside the President’s designated authority,” Katzmann wrote Tuesday.

Shares of First Solar Inc (FSLR.O), a large U.S. solar panel manufacturer, fell after the decision and dropped 7.1% in last afternoon’s trading.

The Biden administration defended Trump, saying he acted legally to close a “loophole” he believes undermines tariff protections against an “explosive” increase in imports.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bifacial technology is a small but growing segment of the solar panel market, costing higher but capable of producing greater power than traditional panels.

Trump said extending the exemption would likely reduce the effectiveness of tariffs meant to help protect the domestic solar industry against growing imports.

But one trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, has argued that higher tariffs could eliminate several billion dollars of domestic investment a year.

The group and several solar farms sued in December over the proclamation, which says Trump acted without going through the necessary procedures.

Abigail Ross Hopper, the group’s president, in a statement called Trump’s proclamation “an unlawful attempt to torture” tariffs and Katzmann’s findings were “clearly the right conclusion.”

The United States in 2018 imposed four years of duties on solar panel imports, starting at 30% and dropping to 15% last year. Trump’s proclamation raised the final rate to 18%.

The case is Solar Energy Industries Association et al v US et al, US Court of International Trade, no. 20-03941.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Edited by Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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