Trump tariffs may hurt consumers
Advocates predict they’ll ultimately create jobs
Prices for washing machines and solar panels are likely to rise while tens of thousands of Americans could lose jobs after President Trump’s decision to slap hefty tariffs on imports of those products in a bid to aid U.S. manufacturers, industry officials say.
“It’s likely this will result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers,” says John Taylor, senior vice presi- dent for LG Electronics, a South Korean maker of washing machines.
Abigail Harper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, says the duties “will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost thousands of hardworking, blue-collar Americans their jobs.”
The solar industry has been booming as system prices became more competitive with standard electricity prices.
Some U.S. manufacturing advocates say worries about soaring prices are overblown, and the administration’s gambit will ultimately create more jobs than it destroys as Trump backs up his “America First” credo with tough action.
“You’ll see more manufacturing workers in more states making more products with more innovation and R&D,” says Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
Trump approved recommendations by the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imported large washing machines and parts and
up to 30% on solar panels. The tax on washing machines will decrease, then expire after three years, while the duty on solar cells and modules will phase out after four years.
The steps came after Whirlpool complained that Korean makers dumped washing machines in the USA at excessively low prices from 2012 to
2016. Solar companies Suniva and Solar World charged that China provided unfair subsidies and financing to its solar producers during that period. China makes 71% of the world’s solar modules.
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in favor of the companies, concluding that the imports were “a substantial cause of serious injury” to U.S. manufacturers under a 1974 trade law. All of the petitioning companies have been losing money.
Though the tariffs were largely aimed at South Korea and China, they’ll apply globally with a few exceptions, preventing companies from moving facilities to other countries to evade the penalties.
“The president’s action makes clear 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.
Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says, “If you are an industry with a plausible complaint, come to Uncle Trump because he will take care of you.”
Some of the effects may be shortterm. Samsung already makes washers in South Carolina, and LG plans to open a Tennessee plant by the end of
2018 — offering possible avenues for skirting the tariffs.
The Solar Energy Industries Association says about 23,000 U.S. jobs will be lost because of the tax on solar imports.