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).
Voters in the U.S. are nearing the end of a fraught U.S. election season. They're casting the last of what will likely be a record-setting number of ballots.
Voters across the U.S. received anonymous robocalls in the lead up to Election Day urging them to “stay safe and stay home” - an ominous warning that election officials say could be an effort to scare voters.
Government spending is at record levels under the Trump administration and its drawing attention to the U.S. tax code. Cheddar's Kristen Scholer breaks takes a look at how Trump and Biden tax plans compare.
For countries around the planet, the presidency of Donald Trump in its first term has been, it is safe to say, a singular experience to watch.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has been hoping to match Trump in the one area where the president dominates most — social media advertising.
The Republican and Democratic candidates for Utah's gubernatorial seat having linked arms for an unconventional campaign ad that shows despite conflicting ideas, civility is possible. Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and Democratic challenger, Chris Peterson joined Cheddar to discuss how civility among people and politicians can move the country forward.
With weekly jobless claims remaining high, voters might want to know more about what former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump intend to do on the issue of labor.
Voters in Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey will vote on adult-use cannabis legalization, while voters in Mississippi will decide on medical cannabis and South Dakota will consider both medical and adult-use simultaneously.
Digital political ads , while not the primary source for campaigns, are growing in popularity. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo takes a look at how Facebook's political ad policies are being implemented.
Police are investigating vandalism that left several headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Grand Rapids spray-painted with “TRUMP” and “MAGA” before President Donald Trump held his final campaign rally in the western Michigan city.
