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).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Alan Dershowitz has written the book on reasons not to impeach President Trump ー and he thinks re-elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just might follow his counsel. "I think she is the adult in the room and she'll take my advice," Dershowitz told Cheddar on Thursday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019.
Netflix may benefit in the short-term from its decision to pull an episode of a comedy show that criticized Saudi Arabia's royal family, but in the long-term, the move could hurt the public's trust in the brand, Jack Crowe of the National Review told Cheddar Wednesday.
The Democratic Party establishment still have a chance to embrace the Green New Deal ー and their success in upcoming elections might just depend on it, Justice Democrats Communications Director Waleed Shahid told Cheddar on Monday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
Elissa Slotkin is ready to swap the farmland of Michigan for the gridlock of Washington. Come Jan. 3, the incoming Democratic congresswoman, a former CIA analyst, will represent Michigan’s 8th District, which President Trump won by a nearly 7-point margin in 2016.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 31, 2018.
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.
As 2018 dwindles, we're reviewing the year's most extravagant fails as part of Cheddar's Hall of Shame.
