President Trump came down hard in favor of American businesses Tuesday, leaving environmentalists seething. Going forward, there will now be a heavy tariff imposed on solar panel technology imports.
The debate was first kicked up after two giant companies complained that cheap, foreign imports were slicing into their profits and devaluing their businesses.
“The ITC found that U.S. producers had been seriously injured by imports and made several recommendations to the President,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
“Based on this information, the Trade Policy Committee developed recommendations, which the President has accepted. The President’s action makes clear again that the Trump Administration will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses in this regard.”
Liberals and tree-huggers are furious. They’re convinced, without evidence, that the new taxes will destroy the burgeoning solar industry and cause thousands to lose their jobs.
“While tariffs, in this case, will not create adequate cell or module manufacturing to meet U.S. demand… they will create a crisis in a part of our economy that has been thriving, which will ultimately cost tens of thousands of hard-working, blue-collar Americans their jobs,” Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said.
Suniva and SolarWorld Americas, the two companies that pestered the government to implement the tariff, claim that the fire and doom predicted by liberals is all wrong. Their analysts predict a booming domestic manufacturing industry and over 100,000 new jobs will result from the new tax.
“Over the last 5 years, nearly 30 American solar manufacturers collapsed; today the President is sending a message that American innovation and manufacturing will not be bullied out of existence without a fight,” a spokesperson for Suniva said.
“This is a step forward for this high-tech solar manufacturing industry we pioneered right here in America.”
(Source: The Hill)