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).
After months of speculation, former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg made it official that he's running for president, and the media outlet he founded has outlined how they plan on covering the race from this point forward.
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.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
Volkswagen gets its first chance to show off its new electric vehicle, the ID. Space Vizzion, even as the California government boycotts the show over some automakers siding with the White House in a fight over emissions standards.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, November 21, 2019.
The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 passed through the House Judiciary Committee 24-10 on Wednesday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several Democratic lawmakers held an event as the impeachment inquiry raged on drawing attention back to background check legislation currently stalled in the Senate.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, November 20, 2019.
As 2020 presidential candidates prepare to take the stage at the fifth Democratic debate on Wednesday, the lower tier candidates continue their fight for a spot on the national stage.
The third day of impeachment hearings finished up with testimony from Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine who attempted to clarify inconsistent testimony, and Timothy Morrison, a former National Security Council official.
