Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) touts his efforts to block Chinese companies from getting federal subsidies for solar production. At the start of his Senate career, however, he said "we welcome Chinese investment" in green energy, an unearthed video shows.
His remarks came during an appearance on MSNBC in February 2010 in a segment about stimulus funds. Brown touted a $30 billion program that would be used for domestic investment, much of which would be in the green energy sector.
"Some [companies] are having trouble because they can’t scale up fast enough because they don’t have capital," Brown said. "And the Chinese are coming in, as you know, and doing more and more manufacture [sic] of wind turbines and all that. I mean, we welcome Chinese investment, I just don’t want them to move it offshore."
Faced with one of the most competitive reelection races of his career, Brown’s tune has since changed. He now wants an emergency fix to the Inflation Reduction Act that would bar Chinese firms from receiving any funds from the bill.
But Brown voted for the $800 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed along party lines in 2022. The bill includes few guardrails that stop Chinese companies from taking advantage of the billions of dollars in manufacturing tax credits.
"Democrats believe America cannot go green without Beijing. And China’s domination of these key industries means Chinese companies—not American businesses—will benefit from the new incentives," Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) wrote in 2022.
Republicans warned during deliberations over that bill that Chinese companies would benefit from the new spending, which is almost entirely focused on green energy. Chinese companies currently dominate many parts of the green energy economy and produce nearly 76 percent of the world’s electric batteries.
Brown’s bill, which is nearly identical to one introduced by Rubio months prior, would block Chinese companies from receiving any of the Inflation Reduction Act’s funds. Brown expressed concern nearly two years after the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage about whether "taxpayer money isn’t going to Chinese companies."
It may be too late. Reuters reported in July that "construction of U.S. solar manufacturing plants by Chinese companies is surging, putting China in position to dominate the nascent industry."
A separate analysis estimated that Chinese companies could earn up to $125 billion in tax credits from the bill. As of last year, Chinese firms were the "biggest beneficiaries" of the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Brown’s office did not respond to a request for comment. It is not clear whether Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has any intention of putting Brown’s bill up for a vote.
The Biden administration has otherwise welcomed the Chinese investment. In August 2023, the Treasury Department credited the Inflation Reduction Act as the reason why Chinese firms have expanded operations in the United States.
Many of those firms have direct connections to the Chinese Communist Party, such as Boviet. Boviet is owned by a Chinese holding firm which is chaired by Xie Shicai, who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.