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Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution backed by Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for circumventing U.S. trade laws and to support American manufacturers and workers. 

Latta joined U.S. Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL8), Dan Kildee (D-MI8), Garret Graves (R-LA6), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ9), Terri Sewell (D-AL7), Ro Khanna (D-CA17), Gregory Murphy (R-NC3), Christopher Deluzio (D-PA17), and Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) in introducing the resolution in March of 2023. 

“America is a nation of laws, which means it’s not within the president’s power to pick and choose which laws to enforce even if those laws, go against their own personal political agenda,” Latta said. “We must stand up to China’s violations of our trade laws and I am proud to see Congress acting in a bipartisan fashion to send a message to President Biden that rushing a green agenda cannot supersede laws that protect American workers and businesses. Our bipartisan joint resolution seeks to roll back this administration’s decision to exempt tariffs on solar panels manufactured in Southeast Asia, and I look forward to seeing it cross the finish line so we can put American manufacturers first and hold Communist China accountable for its use of forced labor and unfair trade practices.”

H.J. Res. 39 would roll back a regulation that suspends tariffs on solar imports from four Southeast Asian countries. This rule is in effect until mid-2024, despite the Biden administration’s own investigation, which found companies in these same countries—Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam—are helping Chinese solar manufacturers evade U.S. tariffs. Malaysia refused to cooperate with the investigation. Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress can repeal rules enacted by the executive branch if they were enacted within 60 legislative days of the end of the last legislative session.

Click here or below to view Latta’s remarks in support of the resolution on the U.S. House Floor. 

Latta’s work to reverse the solar panel tariff exemption

Last year, Latta and now-Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led a letter with their House colleagues to President Biden to call for a reversal of his recent tariff exemption for solar panels from certain Southeast Asian countries. Click here to read.