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).
Americans returning home from Thanksgiving break are facing strict new coronavirus measures around the country as health officials brace for a disastrous worsening of the out-of-control surge because of holiday gatherings over the long weekend.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, says he is leaving the telecommunications regulator on Inauguration Day.
President-elect Joe Biden will have an all-female communications team at his White House, a first for the presidency.
Congress is returning to Washington for one last attempt at deal-making this year.
President-elect Joe Biden has announced several of his most senior economic advisers.
Moderna Inc. says it will ask U.S. and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine as new study results confirm the shots offer strong protection
Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, November 25, 2020:
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia has rejected President Donald Trump’s latest effort to challenge the election results in a case that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court if Trump appeals.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
President-elect Joe Biden's choice of Janet Yellen for treasury secretary isn't rattling many cages on Wall Street where analysts expect her to hew closely to outgoing Secretary Mnuchin's policies.
