President Donald Trump’s attempt to create U.S. jobs by taxing solar panel imports could backfire.
That’s according to the CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group, who says it’s domestic workers that will feel the pain.
“We have been the fastest growing form of new energy...and this is putting the brakes on that crazy growth,” Abigail Ross Hopper told Cheddar in an interview. “These are not people who are looking for what nationality the company they work for is. They just want to feed their families and pay their mortgages. And those are the people whose jobs are at risk.”
Earlier this week President Trump signed a law that would impose a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panel and sells, a move the administration says will encourage domestic manufacturing.
But the SEIA says the vast majority of the 260,000 Americans employed in the industry work in peripheral industries like installation. Ross Hopper says the bill will result in 23,000 layoffs this year and delay or cancel billions of dollars of investment in the sector.
She also says it might dissuade U.S. consumers from going green.
“Most [businesses and consumers] want to choose solar because it saves them money,” she said. “This decision changes that calculus.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/solar-power-in-america).
In a flurry of diplomacy across two continents, President Joe Biden emerged from a meeting with Germany’s new leader to vow the crucial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Europe would be blocked if Russia further invades Ukraine.
Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief at The Balance, joined Cheddar News to preview the January jobs report, and to break down the racial disparity in employment numbers in the U.S.
Jarrod Loadholt, Partner at Ice Miller, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the latest proposal by the SEC and explains how it could allow the agency to make major regulatory moves within the cryptocurrency space if approved.
Personal data platform Caden raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding. Caden says its service allows users to have complete control over their data and earn a profit from it by sharing certain data with trusted brands, while never relinquishing ownership. The company also says its goal is to transform the internet and the use of personal data and make a better system for both consumers and brands. Caden founder and CEO John Roa joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The leaders of Russia and China have declared their joint opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirmed that the island of Taiwan is a part of China.
U.S. employers stepped up hiring in January, adding 467,000 jobs despite a wave of omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their industries. Today we profile Newark, NJ, Mayor Ras Baraka.
President Joe Biden is committing to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years. That's a new goal for the “moonshot” against the disease that was announced in 2016 when Biden was vice president.
A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to the middle section of the United States as airlines canceled hundreds of flights, governors urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses.
