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).
A California law taking effect Jan. 1 could make pork harder to find and more expensive.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking to speed up consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.
Jill and Carlo talk about the latest from Tokyo including Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final, Dr. Fauci's dire Delta warning, high profile vaccine mandates from employers like Walmart and Disney, and Square's acquisition of Afterpay.
A shortage of ammunition in the U.S. is having an impact on law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters.
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
The Biden administration has announced sweeping new pandemic rules for federal workers and some contractors.
U.S. regulators have taken action that will make it easier to get a cheaper and similar version of a brand-name insulin at the drugstore.
A new interactive tracker from the Atlantic Council shows that 81 countries are at some stage of development with a central bank digital currency, but the U.S. is notably absent from its list of frontrunners.
Fueled by vaccinations and government aid, the U.S. economy grew at a solid 6.5% annual rate last quarter in the clearest sign to date that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits slid last week, another sign that the job market continues to recover rapidly from the coronavirus recession.
