(Ottawa) Canada and the United States announced on Thursday the elimination of American customs duties on solar panels, a measure taken to protect American manufacturers who are facing stiff competition, particularly from China.
Posted yesterday at 4:26 p.m.
According to the two trading partners, the agreement will strengthen this sector in North America.
In early February, Joe Biden extended for four years the tariffs on solar panels that had been initially imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump in January 2018.
A few days later, a dispute settlement panel of the North American Free Trade Agreement (AEUMC or CUSMA) had concluded that the United States, by imposing these surcharges against Canada, had violated this agreement.
“I welcome today the arrangement with the United States to remove US safeguard duties on Canadian solar energy products,” said Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.
“This arrangement will bring stability and predictability to our renewable energy sector and strengthen North American competitiveness,” she added, in a statement.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a separate statement that entering into this arrangement “will support greater deployment of solar power in the United States using products from one of our closest allies.
According to the Trade Ambassador, the agreement “will also foster a more resilient North American supply chain for clean energy products made without forced labor.”
The agreement must be signed on Friday.
The lifting of Canadian tariffs comes a month after the White House announced a two-year suspension of customs duties on certain solar panel parts imported from four Asian countries, but not from China, in order to allow American manufacturers to increase their production.
According to the ministry, exports of solar energy products from Canada to the United States have fallen by 82% since the tariffs came into force.