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).
Lead House Manager Adam Schiff in Trump's impeachment trial brought a little incredulous humor into the proceedings when he pointed out the Justice Department's contradictory position on subpoenas being presented in federal court on the same day.
The Committee met twice last week but held off making the designation that allows the organization to ramp up the international response to the coronavirus.
The attorneys for advice columnist E. Jean Carroll say they want to determine whether Trump's genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter. They served a legal notice Thursday to one of Trump's lawyers demanding the sample.
As Republicans gain in confidence that they can block a vote on witnesses, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Cheddar he still thinks Democrats can prevail in tomorrow’s expected witness vote.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, January 30, 2020.
The president has argued he has absolute immunity to bar testimony, an issue Minnesota's Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar would like to question.
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a low level Wednesday amid an economy that looks solid but faces potential global threats.
Senators began submitting questions as the next phase of President Trump's impeachment trial opened Wednesday, including Republican Susan Collins on behalf of herself and colleagues Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney.
The Democratic senator from Virginia expressed concern that the impeachment trial of President Trump also puts to question the impartiality of the entire American system of justice as well.
President Donald Trump has signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico.
