Joe Biden has waived tariffs on solar panels exported from Vietnam and three other Southeast Asian countries for two years amid rising demand for renewable energy in the U.S.
The tariff exemption will also apply to panels from Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand and serve as a “bridge” while U.S. manufacturing ramps up, the White House stated Monday.
Solar energy is among the fastest growing sources of new electric generation in the United States, and Southeast Asia made up around three-quarters of solar modules imported to the U.S. in 2020, the White House said.
Vietnam has risen as a solar power hotspot in recent years thanks to the government’s incentive feed-in tariffs to attract investors.
In the first four months this year, solar plants accounted for 10.9 percent of total power production, according to state-owned utility Vietnam Electricity.
Hong Kong-based Jinko Solar, one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world, received an investment license for its $498 million project in northern Vietnam last year and launched its plant in January.