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).
President Donald Trump has plunged Washington into chaos once more by mounting another desperate attempt to cling to power while leaving lawmakers scrambling to respond to his threat to detonate Congress’ massive COVID-19 relief and year-end package.
President Donald Trump has vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 89,000 last week to a still-elevated 803,000, evidence that the job market remains under stress.
President Donald Trump is threatening to torpedo Congress’ massive pandemic relief package in the midst of a raging pandemic and deep economic uncertainty.
Pfizer and BioNTech will supply the U.S. with an additional 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine under a new agreement.
Stuffed into the new emergency relief package is a morsel that President Donald Trump has long had on the buffet of his economic wish list: restoring full tax breaks for restaurant business meals.
The Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging the company unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies, helping to fuel the opioid crisis in America.
The coordinator of the White House coronavirus response says she plans to retire. But first, Dr. Deborah Birx says, she's willing to help President-elect Joe Biden’s team with its coronavirus response if needed.
While the U.S. reels from the massive SolarWinds hack, which compromised government agencies and private tech companies, experts predict more attacks on high-value targets are likely to occur.
Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
