Mexico Asks US to Spare its Bifacial Solar Panels From Safeguard

The government of Mexico has asked the U.S. to exempt Mexican bifacial solar panels from a global safeguard tariff. Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro noted that USMCA, or T-MEC, as they call it in Mexico, has rules in this regard. The July 12 press release didn't spell it out, but safeguards are only to be applied to Mexico and Canada if their imports are integral to the injury to U.S. producers; the U.S. eventually reversed the solar panel safeguard on all Canadian panels (see 2207070041).

Buenrostro told U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that tariff -- which has not previously applied to bifacial panels -- would end up closing a factory that's part of the North American supply chain, and would cause the loss of hundreds of jobs.