Raimondo: Inquiry on solar imports follows the law

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo pushed back forcefully Wednesday against critics — including some within the Biden administration — who say a government investigation of solar imports from Southeast Asia is hindering President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate goals.

Testifying on her department’s budget, Raimondo told a Senate panel that the solar inquiry is following a process set by law that doesn’t allow consideration of climate change, supply chains or other factors.

“There’s a process, a law,’’ that she must follow, Raimondo said. “I have to implement the law.’’

Raimondo called the inquiry into imports from four Southeast Asian nations “quasi-judicial” and “apolitical,’’ noting that it is being led by career staff at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration.

“We’re going to move as fast as we can,’’ she told Sen. Brian Schatz, DHawaii. Schatz was one of several lawmakers who pressed Raimondo on the solar inquiry, which he said was serving to “grind an entire industry to a halt.’’

Commerce announced in late March that it was investigating a complaint by a small California solar company that solar manufacturers in the four Asian countries — Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia — are using parts from Chinese companies to skirt steep antidumping and countervailing tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. (AP)