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).
Congressional candidate and former NFL linebacker Colin Allred says he received former President Barack Obama's endorsement in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent Pete Sessions because he has run an inclusive campaign worthy of the Obama brand.
Mark Kaufman, science reporter at Mashable, discusses President Trump's surprising pick to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, atmospheric scientist Kelvin Droegemeier.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday.
The administration confirmed Wednesday that it would raise the proposed tax rate on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, further escalating trade tensions between the two countries.
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The chief prosecutor of Jersey City, Jake Hudnut, stopped prosecuting pot possession cases and said a proposed bill legalizing recreational marijuana could mean "conceivably there will never be another person prosecuted in New Jersey for simple marijuana possession."
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia is leading the charge against big tech, but he may not accomplish much unless Democrats make major gains in midterm elections, according to Axios reporter David McCabe.
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During a 'Fox And Friends' appearance Monday, President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he's not certain collusion is a crime. Republican strategist Rick Wilson notes on Cheddar that Giuliani's latest comments imply the Trump administration has something to hide.
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