Job creator, or job killer? Trump angers solar installers with panel tariff

WASHINGTON/ LOS ANGELES: US President Donald Trump signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels, a move billed as a way to protect American jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to thousands of layoffs and raise consumer prices.

The 30 per cent tariff on solar panels is among the first unilateral trade restrictions imposed by the administration as part of a broader protectionist agenda to help US manufacturers, but which has alarmed Asian trading partners that produce lower cost goods.

The administration also introduced a tariff on imported washing machines.

“You’re going to have people getting jobs again and we’re going to make our own product again. It’s been a long time,” Trump said as he signed the order.

But the solar industry countered that the move will raise the cost of installing panels, quash billions of dollars of investment, and kill tens of thousands of jobs, raising questions about whether Trump’s move will backfire by triggering mass layoffs.

“We are not happy with this decision,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the US Solar Energy Industries Association, on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

“It’s just basic economics – if you raise the price of a product it’s going to decrease demand for that product.” — Reuters