Trumps 30% Tariff On Imported Solar Panels

[Coveny]

For the Solar panel tariff:

The solar panel tariff started with solar panel-maker Suniva (who filed bankruptcy) filed the complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission. And the trade commission sided with them.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/09/trade-commission-decision-finds-solar-manufacturers-harmed-by-imports/

 

“On behalf of the entire solar cell and panel manufacturing industry, we welcome this important step toward securing relief from a surge of imports that has idled and shuttered dozens of factories, leaving thousands of workers without jobs.”

-Juergen Stein, CEO and president of SolarWorld Americas

https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2017/09/industry-reaction-solar-panel-tariff-ruling/

 

Against the Solar panel tariff

Those in the solar industry installation business however are very unhappy about the tariff siting previous failed attempts.

(six years ago) “The first time the United States tried to protect solar industry manufacturing jobs from foreign competition, things did not go exactly as planned. Chinese solar panel makers evaded U.S. tariffs by relocating to Taiwan, and the Chinese government retaliated with its own duties on U.S. exports of the raw material used in making the panels — leading U.S. manufacturers to lay off more than 1,000 workers and scrap a new $1.2 billion factory.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-tariffs-will-save-some-solar-jobs-and-destroy-others/2018/01/22/756feb60-fca2-11e7-8f66-2df0b94bb98a_story.html?utm_term=.49156f9d7313

 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates that the tariff “will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year”

https://www.seia.org/news/presidents-decision-solar-tariffs-loss-america

 

Corruption

The oil, gas and coal companies stand the most to gain from sluggish growth in the renewable energy market. The raised $107 million for Trump’s inauguration, and have spent 36.1 million on federal lobbying efforts from Jan. 1 through March 31. And the money seems to be paying off:

1) Rescinding ban dumping toxic heavy metals into waterways

2) Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline

3) Rolling back the Clean Power Plan

4) Opening up protected lands to drilling and mining interests

https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/05/02/20848/oil-gas-and-coal-interests-filling-donald-trump-s-swamp-cash

 

Going so far as to nominate them to his cabinet

1) ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State

2) Rick Perry for Secretary of Energy

https://www.oilandgasinvestor.com/trump-cabinet-positions-fill-oil-gas-advocates-1453571

 

Closing

All this in the face of climate change disasters we’re seeing in places like fires in California, flooding in Houston, and Puerto Rico four months later still has 450k people without power, and “Power may not be fully restored until May”.

https://weather.com/news/news/2018-01-26-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-power-outages-restoration