The Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported solar panels in response to Chinese solar panels flooding the American market. This directly harmed Mindset’s client, an American solar panel company with R&D in the US and all high-tech manufacturing outside of China.

The challenge.

The tariff on solar panels was one of many—meaning the Department of Commerce was inundated with exclusion requests. We had to get the attention of key agency officials and distinguish our client among all other requests.

The approach.

Mindset was quickly able to set up meetings for the client’s executives with key senior administration officials at the Departments of Commerce and Energy, Office of the US Trade Representative, and White House. But we didn’t merely open doors for our client; we took the time to learn the client’s business model. This allowed us to intelligently speak to the unique position of our client and how its existing business model and supply chain aligned with the administration’s goals of protecting US intellectual property and promoting domestic manufacturing. Our client was able to strengthen its case through our counsel of demonstrating its commitment to re-shoring elements of its manufacturing assets. Lastly, these elements were complemented by engagement with the client’s trade association and outreach to Members of Congress in partnership with the client’s business partners and suppliers to properly put its story in the context of the larger economy and supply chain—thereby illustrating the sweeping implications of the proposed tariff, and the need for the exemption.

The solution.

Ultimately, because we took the time to understand all of the operational and supply chain implications of the proposed tariff, our team was able to distinguish our client from similarly placed peers and secure one of the first product exclusions granted by the Department of Commerce—thereby preventing a debilitating disruption to our client’s business model.