First Solar Won’t Be Advocating for Trump Tariff Extension

First Solar Inc., which advocated for Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported equipment, won’t be asking for their extension.

The Arizona-based manufacturer instead wants a longer-term industrial policy that helps level the playing field for U.S. companies against China subsidies. That could include incentives that spur domestic manufacturing.

The tariffs are an “inelegant solution” to address the challenge of Chinese subsidies, said Samantha Sloan, vice president of policy at First Solar. They don’t differentiate between imports that benefit from the subsidies and those that don’t.

Still, First Solar doesn’t want a gap between the sunset of the tariff ...