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).
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress and the nation of what he calls "really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly.
Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness told Cheddar Monday many of the counties in South Florida have been working together to decide on a reopening date for their communities.
Dr. Beth Cameron, who is currently vice president of global biology programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, was previously a senior director in the White House pandemic office under the National Security Council.
The White House is requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter Monday that the company has restarted its California factory in violation of local government orders.
The Navajo reservation spans three western U.S. states and has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country. With roughly 175,000 people living there, the tribe has seen 3,122 cases. At least 100 people have died.
Stocks are dipping in early trading on Wall Street Monday and giving back some of the strong gains made last week.
Coronavirus has forced New York City teachers to fundamentally change how they educate students. Now they're fighting for their own vision of how and when schools should reopen.
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.
Businesses from coast-to-coast were forced to closed their doors when the coronavirus outbreak arrived in the U.S. Practically overnight, 33 million Americans (so far) suddenly lost their livelihoods. Cheddar is speaking to some of these workers who have found themselves unexpectedly unemployed in today's turbulent environment.
