The Trump administration announced Thursday that it has launched a probe into wind turbine imports as well as their parts and components, citing national security concerns with.
The U.S. Department of Commerce published a notice Thursday which states that the agency launched an investigation on August 13 to determine the national security dangers that imported wind turbines and their “foreign-built” components might pose under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The Department noted that it is primarily seeking information on how much foreign developers are able to leverage wind power supply chains as well as how wind turbines and their parts might be weaponized by foreign adversaries, among several other factors under the national security umbrella.
“This notice identifies issues on which the Department is especially interested in obtaining the public’s views,” the notice reads, stating that the agency is particularly interested in public comments and information on “the impact of current trade policies on domestic production of wind turbines and their parts and components, and whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security [and] … the ability of foreign persons to weaponize the capabilities or attributes of foreign-built wind turbines and their parts or components.”
Commerce listed several other issues pertaining to national security that it is seeking public comments and information on, including the current demand for wind turbines and their parts in the U.S. as well as how effectively the green energy technology can meet America’s energy needs.
A lot of green energy technology relies on foreign supply chains, namely China, as it mines and refines critical minerals used in wind turbines and solar panels. The U.S. currently relies on imports for approximately 80% of the rare earth metals it uses, with the majority coming from China, which continues to dominate the global supply chain and refining capacity for critical minerals.
Notably, several unlisted and “rogue communication devices” from China were reportedly left in solar panel parts that are capable of remotely triggering blackouts, Reuters reported.
“That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid,” one of two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The Trump administration has recently been cracking down on solar and wind energy technology, with the Department of the Interior (DOI) stating in July that it would end any “preferential treatment” for what it considers to be foreign-controlled, unreliable energy sources favored by the Biden administration. Former President Joe Biden pushed for green energy technology through government subsidies, grants and loans to the tune of billions as part of his climate agenda.
President Donald Trump has made energy security a priority, declaring a national energy emergency on his first day back in the Oval Office and moving to bolster reliable energy sources like nuclear and coal.
Notably, the Trump administration has also been recently scrutinizing electronics imports over potential Chinese slave labor concerns, some of which reportedly included solar panel components, according to E&E News.
The Department of Commerce did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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