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).
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underscored the U.S. economy’s ongoing weakness Tuesday in remarks that suggested that the Fed sees no need to alter its ultra-low interest rate policies anytime soon.
Facebook says it will lift a ban on Australians viewing and sharing news on its platform after it struck a deal with the government on proposed legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism.
Advertising analytics company DoubleVerify found in a report that there was a 21 percent increase in "inflammatory news and political content" on websites following January 6.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) discussed the need for stronger cybersecurity measures for the U.S. prior to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the SolarWinds data breaches in 2020.
The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has topped 500,000, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam combined.
The Celtics and Vistaprint have partnered on the #PowerForward campaign that sets out to provide small, Black-owned businesses in the Boston area $25,000 grants.
500K Covid Deaths, Texas Utility Bills & Arctic Milestone
In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is declining to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.
The surge in pricing is hitting people who have chosen to pay wholesale prices for their power, which is typically cheaper than paying fixed rates during good weather, but can spike when there’s high demand for electricity.
Customs authorities in Ohio say they intercepted a shipment of cereal earlier this month with a special frosting — cocaine.
