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).
Anger over Texas' power grid failing in the face of a record winter freeze is mounting. Nearly 3 million customers in the energy capital of the U.S. woke up Wednesday still without power.
Cheddar Climate is highlighting the automotive industry and the steps its leaders are taking to reduce carbon emissions.
A winter storm that left millions without power in record-breaking cold weather has claimed more lives.
The Senate has acquitted Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. The rare Saturday session comes barely one month since the deadly Jan. 6 siege at the U.S. Capitol.
While Congress negotiates another stimulus package with a price tag of up to $1.9 trillion, some economists are raising concerns that inflationary pressures will return to the economy.
Heather Boushey, a member of the Biden administration's Council of Economic Advisers, spoke with Cheddar about the need to mitigate COVID-19 in order to return Americans to full employment.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y. 12th District) has introduced a legislative package containing five bills aimed at improving gun safety in the U.S.
Canopy Growth CEO David Klein talked to Cheddar about the confidence he has that the Canadian cannabis company will soon be entering the U.S. market.
The new organization, U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), will lobby and organize on the state and federal levels to push lawmakers toward ending cannabis prohibition through industry-friendly reforms that promote equity and inclusion.
State Rep. Noel Frame discussed a new proposal by Washington democrats to impose a wealth tax on billionaires to help combat growing inequality.
