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 Need2Know.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, Aug. 16.
Christine Hallquist, the first transgender gubernatorial candidate to be nominated by a major party, faces an uphill battle in Vermont, where she is trying to unseat the popular Republican governor.
Cannabis represents a fourth pillar of Constellation Brands' beer, wine, and spirits strategy, says the CEO Rob Sands. The company, which makes Corona beer, Svedka vodka, and Robert Mondavi wine invested $4 billion in the Canadian marijuana company Canopy Growth ー the largest weed deal by a major publicly traded company.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, Aug. 15.
Constellation Brands, the alcoholic beverage giant, is making a big bet that marijuana will be legalized in the United States by upping its investment in the Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth. With legal marijuana coming to Canada in the fall, investors are preparing for a potential legal U.S. market to open up soon.
Rep. Tom Reed says he plans to propose a ban on House members serving on corporate boards, a bipartisan proposal designed to eliminate "potential conflict and the appearance of impropriety." The move comes a week after his New York Republican colleague Rep. Chris Collins was indicted on insider trading charges.
These are the headlines you Need2Know on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
A year after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, the country continues to see an upsurge in racism, says Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter. But Cullors also says she sees more people "joining together in this moment to stand up for our rights."
