Solar industry braces for job losses as Trump puts fees on imported panels

Alexander C. Kaufman
Solar industry braces for job losses as Trump puts fees on imported panels
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At the same time, domestic solar panel manufacturers have suffered, unable to compete with cheaper rivals from abroad. Last year, Suniva, a Georgia-based manufacturer owned by a Chinese company, filed a trade complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) after declaring bankruptcy, arguing that it’s impossible to compete with cheap imports. In May, SolarWorld, the Oregon-based subsidiary of a German panel maker, joined the complaint. The companies requested that the White House impose fees on imported panels under the 1974 Trade Act that would more than double the price of solar cells from about 33 cents to roughly 78 cents per watt.

Instead, Trump approved a 30 percent fee on all imported solar panels, decreasing by 5 percent per year over four years. The decision is in line with what the ITC recommended in October, a proposal Suniva called “disappointing.”

In a joint statement, Suniva and SolarWold “applauded” Trump, but urged him to increase the first-year tariff to 50 percent.

“Our companies and workers are grateful to hear the President understands the seriousness of the problem facing our solar manufacturers in Michigan, Georgia, Oregon and across the country,” said the statement, signed by SolarWorld Americas Inc. CEO Juergen Stein and Suniva executive vice president Matt Card. “Now the President can save and rebuild this great American industry and create thousands of jobs by immediately imposing 50 percent tariffs ― the strongest tariffs possible.”

Their complaint marked the first major trade case before the Trump administration, and offered a fascinating test of the president’s “American First” nationalist agenda, which has pushed fossil fuel production as its primary energy policy. The president, who has railed against renewable energy and dismissed climate change as a hoax, had significant discretion over the decision.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

  • This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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