Trump hits solar panels, washing machines with tariffs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported solar-energy components and large washing machines in a bid to help U.S. manufacturers.

The president on Monday approved recommendations by the U.S. International Trade Commission to impose the tariffs. The administration cast the moves as part of Trump’s pledge to put American companies and jobs first.

Most imported solar modules will face an immediate tariff of 30 percent, with the rate declining before phasing out after four years.

For large residential washing machines, tariffs will start at up to 50 percent and phase out after three years.

The U.S. solar industry was split over the trade barriers.

The tariffs were sought by Suniva, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year, and the U.S. subsidiary of Germany’s SolarWorld. They said that a nearly 500 percent increase in imported solar panels over five years led to a ruinous price collapse, which they blamed on Chinese solar companies.

“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 announcing the decision.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, which represents solar installers, said the tariff would lead to the delay or cancellation of billions of dollars of investment in solar energy and the loss of 23,000 industry jobs this year.

One of the group’s members, Bill Vietas, president of RBI Solar in Cincinnati, said the industry has been growing over the past five years. “Government tariffs will increase the cost of solar and depress demand, which will reduce the orders we’re getting and cost manufacturing workers their jobs,” he said.