Are human rights abuses and modern day slavery in China just necessary evils for Gov. Polis to meet his goal of 100% renewable energy in Colorado by 2040?
Polis seems to think so, because he’s actively trying to quash a federal investigation into Asian companies that are allegedly circumventing American dumping regulations that block solar panel parts from China.
The Denver Gazette is reporting on the letter Polis issued Tuesday to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo saying their investigation “jeopardizes our shared interest in providing financial relief to residents in the transition to affordable clean energy.”
Cringe.
“Many American jobs, which depend on those projects, are at risk if Commerce heads down its current procedural path and imposes a prohibitively high tariff on much-needed imported solar products.”
The governor added: “I strongly urge the Commerce Department to quickly conclude this investigation and not impose tariffs. Commerce should promote, not deter, growth in the American solar industry.”
So it doesn’t matter where these parts come from, so long as it’s cheap.
President Biden last year ratcheted up pressure over human rights abuses in China to block materials that are produced by forced labor practices from being used in products sold to the U.S., according to The Hill.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters after a June summit:
“As President Biden made clear at the recent G7 summit, the United States will not tolerate modern day slavery in our supply chains.”
But apparently, Polis will.