4 Key Takeaways | Solar Industry & Chinese Tariff Update
Welcome to the September 2024 issue of “As the (Customs and Trade) World Turns,” our monthly newsletter where we compile essential updates from the customs and trade world over the past month. We bring you the most recent and...more
On September 13, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it has finalized the modifications to the Section 301 trade actions following the completion of its four-year statutory review in May 2024. As...more
In August 2022, the United States (U.S.) Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”), landmark legislation that modified and extended the longstanding 30% investment tax credit (ITC) for solar photovoltaic...more
CFPB Issues Filing Instructions Guide for Small Business Lending Data - The CFPB has published instructions for banks and other covered financial institutions to submit small business lending data that is required to be...more
On August 7, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report spotlighting four marketing and financing practices relating to solar financing that it claims pose significant consumer risks (the...more
In this report on the solar financing marketplace, which is characterized as an “Issue Spotlight”, the CFPB identifies four areas that they view to present risks to consumers. In the press release accompanying the report,...more
On August 7, 2024, the CFPB published an Issue Spotlight on the solar lending industry. In conjunction with the CFPB’s Issue Spotlight, the CFPB, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Federal Trade Commission also issued a...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB ) recently published a report and an associated consumer advisory warning of risks to consumers from solar lending and encouraging consumers to shop for alternatives before...more
In February 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began taking a new approach to Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement—questionnaires. Once again, the solar industry is among the first targets, vanguards...more
The dynamic environment affecting solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters, and importers remains in flux as US and non-US manufacturers take their challenges to the courts....more
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire (“Supreme Court”) in an April 9th, 2024 Opinion addressed an issue arising out of a proposal to install a solar panel array. See Mojalaki Holdings v. City of Franklin, 2024 N.H. 17 (2024)....more
Massachusetts’ achievement of 2025 net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rests upon rapid electrification of the energy grid and substantial growth in solar electricity generation. As of 2023, nearly a quarter of the...more
We have received a number of inquiries regarding the implications of the new solar panels antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations. With the ITC just issuing its affirmative preliminary determination, we...more
The Biden administration continues to navigate the intricate course between fostering domestic solar manufacturing and countering perceived unfair trade practices by China. In a series of strategic maneuvers, the...more
The solar industry is starting to get whiplash. Over the past year in particular, the industry has experienced a whirlwind of regulatory changes making solar tariffs some of the most complex tariffs in all of U.S. importing...more
Two years after declaring a national emergency and instructing the US Department of Commerce (Commerce) to pause the imposition of AD/CVD duties applicable to certain imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells...more
Over the past few weeks, Thomas Allen, Kurtis Anderson, Mark J. Riedy, and Stephen Anstey have released four Legal Alerts on tariffs and threatened tariffs on the solar industry in Southeast Asia and generally imports from...more
May saw the long-awaited release of the USTR’s Section 301 review. USTR confirmed that the Trump-era tariffs will remain in place, and raised those tariffs by another $18 billion on manufacturing, critical minerals, solar...more
Three recent events could impact the duties that U.S. companies will owe on imports from crystalline silicon photovoltaic (“CSPV”) cells and modules. First, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) initiated new...more
There has been a flurry of activity in U.S. trade policy over the past several weeks that will impact a variety of goods imported into the U.S., including solar panel modules, EVs, and batteries. Kilpatrick attorneys have...more
On May 22, 2024, the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") unveiled the details of the proposed increases in Section 301 tariffs on imports from China. If adopted, the action would raise tariffs on solar power products,...more
Key Points - Last Tuesday, USTR announced the results of its Section 301 “necessity review.” Today, USTR followed up with a Federal Register notice providing details on the further proposed modifications to the Section 301...more
With a flurry of recent activity, the U.S. government is administering or considering import duties and quotas on imports of solar energy equipment in three areas: The solar module tariff-rate quota under the “Section 201”...more
On May 14, 2024, President Biden announced that he is directing his Trade Representative to increase tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on a wide range of Chinese goods, which will significantly impact U.S....more
On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) completed a statutory review of tariffs imposed on China for purported unfair “technology transfer” policies that “burden or restrict U.S. commerce” and recommended...more