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).
Cheddar delves into the differences on approaches toward economic recovery and business between the House Democrats and the Senate Republicans.
Attorney General William Barr is defending the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Congressional leaders are praising the late Rep. John Lewis as a moral force for the nation in a Capitol Rotunda ceremony rich with symbolism and punctuated by the booming, recorded voice of the late civil rights icon.
As the coronavirus pandemic hits Americans' wallets, it is also exposing the long standing wealth gap between minority communities and white Americans, according to Damon Jones, professor at the University of Chicago.
President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has tested positive for the coronavirus — making him the highest-ranking official to test positive so far.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says a GOP shake-up is on the horizon following the Trump presidency as calls for change echo across the U.S.
President Donald Trump has been unable to land the big deal he sought with Congress to curb drug costs. But now he's moving on his own to allow imports of cheaper prescription medicines, along with other limited steps that could still have election-year appeal.
Stocks closed broadly lower for the second day in a row Friday as Wall Street gave back some of its gains from a mostly solid July rally.
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.
As President Trump's actions are dissected since protests erupted following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police, much has been made of how past presidents responded to civil unrest over the last century.
