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).
President Trump and the Republican party filed multiple lawsuits on Tuesday to block California’s recently implemented law that requires presidential hopefuls to release their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Republican Rep. Peter King publicly called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a vote on a bipartisan background check legislation, just days after two back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton killed over 30 people.
Congressman Matt Gaetz told Cheddar Monday that a focus on mental health is the answer to stop domestic-based gun violence, not gun control or background checks.
A full transcript of President Trump's statement from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on Monday morning addressing the mass shootings that took place over the weekend.
President Trump denounced white supremacy and called for a bipartisan effort to combat gun violence on Monday, two days after back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio killed nearly 30 people and shocked the nation. He did not propose any major overhaul to gun control legislation.
President Trump announced a deal with the European Union on Friday that will nearly triple the amount of U.S. beef exported to Europe in the coming years. The hike in U.S. beef exports to the EU will boost the industry’s sales in Europe from $150 million to an estimated $420 million annually.
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.
Stock markets worldwide tumbled on Friday following President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will impose tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. Trade groups across industries also came out in fierce opposition to the move, which is the latest escalation in the now years-long trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. is escalating the enduring trade war with China with a new round of 10 percent tariffs that will be imposed on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, President Trump announced Thursday.
The candidate from Hawaii doubled-down on her criticism of the California Senator regarding her record on criminal justice policies like the death penalty and marijuana prosecution.
