Former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper, now the Democratic nominee for the state's open Senate seat, is facing criticism for luring a Chinese solar company to the state with tax incentives, only to see the company exit the US market due to President Donald Trump's trade policies. In 2024, Cooper announced a $32.6 million state and local incentive package to help Boviet Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boway Group, a multibillion-dollar Chinese firm, open a factory in North Carolina.
The Boway Group's board of directors includes members of the Chinese Communist Party, but Cooper referred to the firm as an "international renewable energy company" when announcing the subsidy package. However, after Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, which barred Chinese-owned businesses from accessing Inflation Reduction Act subsidies, the Boway Group began negotiations to sell Boviet to an Indian company for $254 million.
Consequences of the Exit
The exit of Boviet Solar from the US market has been seen as a direct result of Trump's trade policies. Nick Iacovella, executive vice president for the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a domestic manufacturing advocacy group, said that Cooper's decision to welcome the Chinese solar company to North Carolina was a mistake. "Governor Cooper wrongly welcomed China's state-subsidized solar industry into North Carolina, and even applauded the use of taxpayer dollars to support it," Iacovella said.
Boviet had previously been investigated by the Biden Commerce Department in 2023 for allegedly shipping Chinese-manufactured solar products through Vietnam to circumvent US anti-dumping duties. Although the company was cleared in that investigation, the Trump administration imposed a 160 percent tariff on Boviet's Vietnamese imports in April 2025.
Cooper's campaign stands by his decision to provide taxpayer subsidies to Boviet, citing the creation of thousands of jobs and the benefits to working families. However, the exit of Boviet Solar from the US market has raised questions about the effectiveness of such subsidies and the impact of Trump's trade policies on foreign investment in the US.