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).
U.S. stocks fell sharply Monday as investors worry about the potential economic impact of the outbreak of a new virus from China. The declines in the U.S. followed a sell-off in markets in Europe and Japan.
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.
Trump once declared in a 1999 interview that he is "pro-choice in every respect." Now, as he heads into the 2020 election, Trump continues to reach out to the white evangelical voters who have proven to be among his most loyal backers.
The IRS wants to get tougher on the 8 percent of Americans who have ever invested in cryptocurrency.
Steven Mnuchin says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is in no position to give economic advice until she goes to college and comes out with an economics degree.
Chinese authorities Thursday moved to lock down three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million people in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year travel period.
The Special Initiative for Offshore Wind, a research and advocacy organization at the University of Delaware, and the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group, hope to solicit comments and concerns from potential critics.
Experts Hagar Chemali and Michèle Flournoy discussed the pitfalls and paths forward between the U.S. and Iran following recent tensions.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, January 23, 2020.
The marketing firm Brand USA has been charged with drawing in more of those tourists to "the most aspirational destination in the world," CEO Chris Thompson told Cheddar Wednesday.
