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).
Social media is taking a particularly important role in this year's election as the platforms works to remove misinformation. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
Former Trump administration National Security Advisor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, joined Cheddar to discuss the U.S.-China conflict and the threat the nation poses.
The world's number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 40 million.
Oregon Governor, Kate Brown, joined Cheddar to discuss the state's 20 plus years of voting-by-mail. Brown assures that the process is safe and secure.
A trio of scientists is championing a controversial alternative to coronavirus lockdowns in a 500-word document called the Great Barrington Declaration, which is stirring up significant backlash from other public health experts.
President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden showed striking differences in temperament and views in dueling televised town halls.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is suspending in-person events until Monday after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for the coronavirus.
Amy Coney Barrett has said repeatedly at her confirmation hearings that she’d be her own judge if she’s confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Facing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning an extra layer of safety scrutiny for the first people vaccinated when shots become available.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has spent a long day batting back Democrats' tough questioning at her Senate confirmation hearings.
