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).
Semiconductors are essential in industries such as defense, automobiles, and telecom. Cheddar assembled a timeline of the chip shortage stretching back to the pre-Covid economy.
Jared Berstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar about what's at stake for the economy despite a positive February jobs report.
The Senate has voted to begin debating a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
The impact of Texas' governor repealing many of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions is beginning to take shape.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week to 745,000, a sign that many employers continue to cut jobs despite a drop in confirmed viral infections and evidence that the overall economy is improving.
A somber New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is apologizing following sexual harassment allegations against him.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla. 3rd District), spoke to Cheddar regarding her concerns about spending priorities and the price tag of the latest COVID relief bill being put forth by Democrats.
Former Department of Homeland Security acting secretary under Trump, Chad Wolf, talked to Cheddar about domestic terrorism, border control, and cybersecurity.
Mario Schlosser, CEO and co-founder of Oscar Health, spoke to Cheddar about the future of healthcare and insurance in the United States after the company went public.
A Democratic official says President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats have agreed to tighten the upper-income limits at which people could qualify for stimulus checks in the party's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
