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).
The Federal Reserve Chairman and Treasury Secretary expressed cautious optimism that the U.S. economy is rebounding from the pandemic-induced recession with federal support but that more help from the government is likely needed.
The death toll in the U.S. from the coronavirus has topped 200,000, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation.
Law enforcement officials have arrested 179 people and seized more than $6.5 million in a worldwide crackdown on opioid trafficking on the darknet.
The newly-formed Boutique Fitness Alliance allege the city has no proof fitness classes are more likely to spread coronavirus than typical gyms.
Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center, joined Cheddar to discuss the history and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the impact the jurist has had on her own life.
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Tuesday he supports voting to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court
Following the death of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, President Donald Trump has pledged to nominate another judge to the SCOTUS. Rep. Matt Gaetz joined Cheddar to discuss the process and whether or not a new Justice should be named.
Facebook has helped 2.5 million people to register to vote. The social platform has rolled out a voting information center that users can go for everything voting related.
President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday.
The DOJ identified three cities that could have federal funding slashed under a memorandum by President Donald Trump that sought to identify localities that permit "anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities."
