91 RESOLUTION _____ _
2 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami,
3 Florida, urging the President and members of the United States Senate and the
4 House of Representatives to protect American jobs by avoiding the imposition of
5 tariffs and other burdens on the importation of solar panels.
6 Whereas, the United States is making a major effort to convert from fossil fuels to natural
7 renewable energy and to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and its energy dependency on other
8 countries; and
9 Whereas, the United States would like to see the price of solar energy come down so that
10 people in the United States and all over the world will use solar energy instead of fossil fuels that
11 pollute the environment and contribute to climate change and sea level rise; and
12 Whereas, the United States is currently offering tax rebates/subsidies to individuals in order
13 to assist them in installing solar collectors and tariffs on the importation of solar panels will increase
14 this cost to both the citizens and the United States; and
15 Whereas, the institution of a tariff on importation of solar panels will negate the subsidies
16 and tax rebates by increasing the cost and decreasing the demand for solar panels; and
17 Whereas, in May, 2017, two American solar manufacturers, SolarWorld and Suniva, filed a
18 petition with the International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 201 of the Trade Act seeking
19 relief from foreign manufactured crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPY) cells;
20 Whereas, according to an article in Fortune, Suniva is owned by Hong Kong-based
21 Shunfeng International Clean Energy since 2015 and makes panels in Georgia and Michigan,
22 and SolarWorid is a German manufacturer that has a subsidiary based in Oregon; and
23 Whereas, the ITC is scheduled to recommend a remedy in early November, 2017 and it may
24 recommend to the President an increase in a duty, imposition of a quota, imposition of a tariff-rate
25 quota (e.g., a two-level tariff, under which goods enter at a higher duty after the quota is filled), trade
26 adjustment assistance, or any combination of such actions!; and
27 Whereas, the President of the United State will make the final decision on whether to impose
28 a remedy, and if so, the form, amount, and duration of the remedy; and
29 Whereas, the ITC identified 13 operating domestic producers of CSPY cells, including
30 petitioners Sun iva and SolarWorld, in the five-year period from 2012 through 2016. These 13
31 producers, plus three that ceased production during the five-year period, accounted for 100 percent of
32 domestic CSPY cell production2 . However, not all of these manufacturers are in favor of the
33 measures being sought by Suniva and SolarWorld; and
34 Whereas, the number of solar panel manufacturing jobs in the United States that will benefit
35 by the tariff is exceedingly small when compared to the number of solar panel installation jobs that
1 https:/ /www.usitc.gov / press _room/news_rei ease/201_fa ctsheet _fi na lasposted. pdf
2 p.I-53 & I-55, Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether Or Not Partially Or Fully Assembled Into Other
Products), United States International Trade Commission Staff Report (Public Version), Investigation No. TA-201-75
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1 currently exist and that will be lost and number of jobs that will not be created ifthere are burdens,
2 such as a tariffs, put on importation of solar panels; and
3 Whereas, if the proposals filed by SolarWorld and Suniva with the ITC are granted, it would
4 result in the loss of between 48,000 and 63,000 American solar jobs next year alone, and between
5 60,000 and 84,000 jobs by 2020 3 ; and
6 Whereas, according to some industry experts, the job loss could be even greater. They say
7 that by increasing the cost of panels, the tariffs sought by Suniva could have a negative impact of
8 more than $50 billion on the U.S. solar industry -more than 88,000 jobs in the solar supply chain
9 could be eliminated and 47 gigawatts of solar installations could be cancelled in the next five years4 ;
10 and
11 Whereas, according to the article in Fortune, Suniva's remedy proposal would destroy
12 two-thirds of demand, erode billions of dollars in investment, SElA president and CEO Abigail
13 Ross Hopper said in a statement citing analysts' forecasts: and
14 Whereas, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) states that the proposed tariff could
15 double the price of solar panels in the U.S., crippling demand and costing tens of thousands of jobs in
16 the industry; and
17 Whereas, according to an ITC report, the leading suppliers of foreign CSPV products to the
18 United States during 2016 were Malaysia, China, and Korea, with China representing 21.2 percent,
19 of all imports by quantitl; and .
20 Whereas, the U.S. solar manufacturing industry is a diverse economic powerhouse that
21 employs 38,000 workers across more than 600 facilities in the United States and only a small portion
22 of that industry support the imposition of tariffs. A decision to protect a small portion of the industry
23 has the potential to seriously injure and cost many jobs6 ; and
24 Whereas, there is concern among the solar industry that President Trump may view tariffs
25 favorably as appearing to make a strong statement in favor of U.S. manufacturing and against
26 Chinese trade imbalance; and
27 Whereas, it is widely believed that trade sanctions from this decision could cause price
28 increases on the most commonly used type of solar panels, and therefore significant harm to the U.S.
29 solar industry and corporate energy consumers; and
30 Whereas, the explosive job growth in the United States solar installation industry is related
31 to the low cost of imported solar panels, which is helping the United States job market and the United
32 States economy; and
3 https:/ /www.seia. org/news/ solar-energy-advocates-ma n ufactu rers-i nsta II ers-testify-wash i ngton -aga i nst -tra de-
petition
4
http://www.mondaq.com/u n itedstates/x/632814/E nergy+ Law /Su n iva+1 nj u ry+Fi nd i ng+An nou nced +Sola r+1 m port+
Remedies+Heading+to+a+Political+Oecision
5 p.II-2, Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether Or Not Partially Or Fully Assembled Into Other Products),
United States International Trade Commission Staff Report (Public Version), Investigation No. TA-201-75
6 https:/ /www.seia.org/sites/defau It/files/2017-09/Profiles%20in%20Ma nufacturing_ 09-07 -17 .compressed. pdf
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1 Whereas, many of the manufacturers based around the world actually manufacture their
2 panels in China or with Chinese parts, and,as a result, the tariff on importation of solar panels will
3 increase production costs globally; and
4 Whereas, Tesla, an American solar panel manufacturer that is currently building the largest
5 solar cell and module plant in the U.S., has come out in opposition to Suniva's petition and stated
6 that it remains committed to expanding its domestic manufacturing with or without any tariff or price
7 guarantees.
8 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
9 COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
10
11 Section 1. The City of South Miami urges President Donald Trump, United States Senate and
12 the House of Representatives to protect American workers and their jobs by siding with the solar
13 installer industry and against the imposition of tariffs and other burdens on imported solar panels.
14 Section 2. The Clerk is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to President
15 Donald Trump, all of the members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives and
16 members of the Miami Dade Congressional delegation as well as to Senator Marco Rubio.
17
18 Section 3. Direct the County's federal lobbyists to advocate against the tariffs and other
19 burdens on imported solar panels.
20
21 Section 4. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any
22 reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the hqlding shall not affect
23 the validity of the remaining portions ofthis resolution.
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Section 5. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _____ , 2017.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Liebman: