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).
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Prominent business leaders have announced that they will not attend a high-profile conference in Saudi Arabia due to the current controversy surrounding the disappearance of a Washington Post journalist. Dan Primack, business editor at Axios, said while it's partly a PR move, if companies decide to pull out of business deals with Saudi Arabia it could be a huge detriment to the kingdom's economy.
Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch said that the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi is finally opening up the eyes of the world to the "grotesque" human rights abuses from the Saudi kingdom.
President Trump raised the possibility on Monday that missing and presumed-dead journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have been murdered by "rogue killers" from Saudi Arabia, a theory he floated to reporters after a phone call with Saudi King Salman.
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Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, isn't worried about the possible bankruptcy that former retail giant Sears is facing. He says the U.S. has a "dynamic economy," and that's part of the process.
The alleged murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi has major corporations rethinking their involvement in Saudi Arabia, even as President Trump avoids taking a stance. Jeanne Whalen, a reporter for the Washington Post, said this could be destructive to the Saudis' effort to diversify their economy as they move away from oil.
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Stocks rebounded at the market open Friday after a massive two-day sell-off. The Dow Industrials shot up by 400 points.
Stocks continued their slide in volatile trading Thursday. Some tech stocks rebounded, albeit slightly, while President Trump continued his attacks on the Fed.
