The White House on Monday announced plans to suspend tariffs on solar panels imported from four Asian countries suspected of serving as proxies for China to evade trade sanctions imposed by the Obama administration on Chinese solar imports as far back as 2012.

The import of solar panels from Asia by American businesses came to a sudden stop April 1, when U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced an investigation into allegations raised by Auxin Solar, a U.S. solar panel producer. The company claimed panels imported from four Asian countries were being built with Chinese parts and raw materials.

The White House’s decision to suspend tariffs on solar imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam followed intense lobbying by the solar industry and politicians, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., to end the federal investigation.

Ending that investigation, Polis and others said, would restart the stalled solar installation industry, prevent price hikes in solar energy and minimize supply chain disruptions to critical solar projects.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Polis said the governor applauds the Biden administration’s decision, saying it would “save Coloradans money on energy bills, grow Colorado’s good-paying green jobs, and support the transition to 100% renewable energy by 2040.”

Hickenlooper and Bennet released a joint statement this afternoon echoing Polis’ position.

“This is the moment when we should be doing everything we can to invest in America’s solar industry and accelerate deployment of clean energy,” said Bennet. “I’m pleased that President Biden has listened to our calls.”

“We must prioritize U.S. solar power to expand our clean energy economy,” said Hickenlooper. “It’s critical to reaching net-zero emissions. President Biden’s executive order will ensure our domestic solar industry can grow and create good jobs.”

Under the White House’s plan, the tariff suspension will “create a 24-month bridge as domestic manufacturing rapidly scales up to ensure the reliable supply of components that U.S. solar deployers need to construct clean energy projects.” 

The Obama administration put tariffs in place in 2012 following reports China was engaged in predatory pricing that drove almost all U.S. panel producers out of business and because of claims of the use of slave labor in China’s Xinjiang region, where the bulk of manufacturing takes place to produce base materials from which solar panels are made.

China manufactures about 75% to 80% of the world’s production of polysilicon cells that are assembled into solar panels.

The tariff assessed on Chinese panel components varies between 12% and 20%, and it applies to China-run companies, including Canadian Solar, LONGi Solar, JinkoSolar, JA Solar, BYD, Trina Solar and Hanwha Q Cells.

Amicus Solar, an American purchasing cooperative that comprises some 70 solar energy small businesses, sent a letter to Raimondo in March, saying the federal probe is threatening the viability of solar companies.

“We feel it is imperative for you to know that this petition is the single largest threat to the viability of our small businesses that we have seen in the last 20 years,” the cooperative said.

Colorado’s politicians echoed those fears.

Polis urged Raimondo to end the federal investigation noting Colorado’s efforts to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2040.

“This investigation jeopardizes our shared interest in providing financial relief to residents in the transition to affordable clean energy,” Polis said in a statement last month.

In a Senate subcommittee hearing, Raimondo said she has no choice, as she is statutorily obligated to investigate the complaint under federal law.

Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 regulates unfair competition in importation that has the “effect or tendency to destroy or to substantially injure an industry efficiently and economically operated in the United States.”

Investigations under Section 337 are carried out by the United States International Trade Commission. This investigation is scheduled to wrap up in August.

Biden has 60 days after a final ruling by the commission to deny the order. Otherwise, it goes into effect automatically.

Neither Hickenlooper, Bennet nor Polis responded to a request for comment before press time on the issues of unfair trade practices or the use of Uighur forced labor.