The Trump administration approved a measure imposing tariffs on imported solar panels and large residential washing machines on Jan. 23, according to TIME, in a move to push Trump's "America First" agenda.
The U.S. is imposing tariffs up to 30 percent on most imported solar cells and panels. This move will most heavily affect China — a global leader in solar power production. Tariffs will last for four years and incrementally decline 15 percent by the fourth year.
The majority of the American solar industry has opposed the tariffs, saying that it would be detrimental to the industry. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) predicted the loss of approximately 23,000 jobs within the sector due to the imposed tariffs in a press release.
"The [International Trade Commission] found that U.S. producers had been seriously injured by imports and made several recommendations to the President. ...The President’s action makes clear again that the Trump Administration will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses in this regard," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
TIME reports:
The tariffs are just the latest action Trump has taken that undermine the economics of renewable energy. The administration has already decided to pull the U.S. out of the international Paris climate agreement, rolled back Obama-era regulations on power plant-emissions and passed sweeping tax reforms that constrained financing for solar and wind. The import taxes, however, will prove to be the most targeted strike on the industry yet.
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