4 ms·

Solar panels are taxed due to tarrifs dating back before the present administration. The subsidies bring it back a little closer to neutral.

• giantg2 1y ago
  The point of those tariffs were to overcome unfair practices such as dumping. Using subsidies after the tariffs seems self defeating.
  • whatshisface 1y ago
    Yes, policy is often self-defeating. However it's not exactly cancelling out: tariffs + subsidies transfer consumption of specific products to domestic producers, tariffs alone just reduce it. Subsidies alone would raise consumption and direct it domestically. It goes without saying this all comes at the cost of everyone who's not receiving the subsidies.
  • kaibee 1y ago
    Eh it kinda makes sense. You want to boost domestic production but you also don't want to stifle domestic adoption. So if you implement both tariffs and subsidies, consumers can still pay the market price but will buy up all domestic production first. This sounds correct to me? But I haven't given really thought about it deeply yet.
    • giantg2 1y ago
      Those types of tariffs typically just bring foreign imports up to the domestic range, so it doesn't really mean that domestic will be adopted first. If you wanted a targeted affect, you could put tariffs on the imports and subsidize the domestic manufacturers.
  • adrianN 1y ago
    Don’t the subsidies apply to all panels regardless of their origin?