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 coronavirus action plan from President-elect Joe Biden centers on a mass vaccination campaign and closer coordination among all levels of government.
President Donald Trump has been impeached by the U.S. House over the violent siege of the Capitol.
U.S. Shadow Representative of the District of Columbia Oye Owolewa spoke to Cheddar about his belief that the recent attack on the Capitol building underlined the need for DC's statehood.
Cheddar's Megan Pratz reflects on the chaotic day of the counting of the electoral votes when the U.S. Capitol building became overrun by rioters.
The U.S. government’s deficit in the first three months of the budget year was a record-breaking $572.9 billion.
Airbnb says it will be blocking and canceling reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City will terminate business contracts with President Donald Trump after last week’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
A look at how President-elect Joe Biden's budgetary concerns will fit in with people's changing perceptions of the federal deficit and deficit spending.
Impeachment ahead, the House will first try Tuesday to push the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly to remove President Donald Trump from office.
Experts and insiders agree the coming year could have a lot in store for the maturing cannabis industry, from acceleration of M&A and funding in the capital markets to continuing momentum toward legalization on the state level.
