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).
Cheddar speaks with two Congresswomen about what, if anything, will move the needle on gun reform after the Parkland school shooting. In tech news, Apple is reportedly working on new AirPods. Twitter alienated conservatives by accidentally freezing their accounts. Plus, we're joined by Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer who recently became the first American to medal in the men's singles luge event.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) tells Cheddar how the state is coping with the most recent mass shooting in Parkland, FL. She speculates about how this tragedy will influence the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election.
New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney discusses the future of gun reform in the U.S. following the Parkland school shooting. We talk about the students who marched on the Florida State Capitol and how they're changing the conversation around guns.
Kristin Koch, digital director of Seventeen.com, discusses why the Parkland school shooting has remained in the public's consciousness while others have faded. The students who survived the attack have played a huge role in keeping the conversation going.
Apple is reportedly working on new AirPods. Twitter alienated conservatives by accidentally freezing their accounts.
The Florida Congresswoman told Cheddar that the upcoming midterms will send a definitive message on gun reform. She says that, if current legislators can't get laws passed to protect this country, we need to elect people who will.
Even with the President's support of stricter background checks and a ban on bump stocks, the Congresswoman says there are so many other laws on the books that prevent comprehensive gun reform.
House Democrats are calling for Equifax to extend its promise to give customers free credit monitoring from one year to three years. Ariel Evans, CEO of Innosec, joins Cheddar to discuss what this means for the company and the consumer.
The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering with the Presidential election has intensified the pressure put on Facebook, which uncovered about three-thousand Russian-linked ads on its platforms before and after November 2016. Cheddar Senior Reporter, Alex Heath, breaks down the the latest developments.
Uber has a new, cheaper feature. Tesla gets hacked. A polar vortex is bringing record weather across the country. Students across the nation push for gun control, while President Trump holds a listening session with survivors and families of mass shootings. Apple looks to buy cobalt directly from miners.
