President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs on virtually all consumer and industrial goods the U.S. imports triggered a stock market meltdown last week and are fanning fears of recession. On top of that the move is likely to sharply jack up prices for solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, key elements of the renewable power boom the country is enjoying.
China, hit with a 34% tariff increase, is the world’s largest producer of those products, though in the case of solar cells and components, the U.S. is more reliant on imports from Southeast Asia. Trump’s tariffs of 46% on Vietnam, 36% on Thailand, 24% on Malaysia and 49% on Cambodia mean photovoltaic goods from those countries will soon be dramatically more expensive, discouraging new solar installations. And although imports of wind-related equipment have dropped since 2020, the industry remains reliant on turbine blades made by non-U.S. producers, according to Wood Mackenzie. Prior to last week’s announcement, it estimated Trump’s tariffs would boost the cost of new onshore wind projects by 7%.
Domestic manufacturing of clean energy products has been growing, though the scale is still a fraction of China’s and is unlikely to expand dramatically in the near term as the Trump Administration is also working to pull back or end funding for clean energy projects that flourished under his predecessor. That’s unfortunate as renewable energy accounted for a record 24% of U.S. electricity production last year.
“Tariffs require a strategic approach with clear timelines to allow continued certainty for the American people, businesses and our economy,” said Vanessa Sciarra, vice president of trade & international competitiveness for the American Clean Power Association. “The policy whiplash from these tariffs will ultimately undermine the ability to realize a domestic supply chain and will constrain efforts to deliver energy security and reliability for Americans.”
Trump’s strategy may be to use tariffs as a bargaining tool and begin to dial them back soon, but right now it looks like they’ll throw the clean energy boom of recent years off track.
