SEIA President & CEO Makes Personal Plea To Donald Trump To Reject High Solar Tariffs
Abigail Ross Hopper, the Solar Energy Industries Association President and CEO, made a personal plea on Wednesday to US President Donald Trump to reject imposing high tariffs on solar imports and risking tens of thousands of US-based jobs.
At this point it’s unnecessary to run through the whole history of the Section 201 trade case filed by Suniva and SolarWorld — we’ve covered the case since mid-June. But in short, the burden now lays at the feet of US President Donald Trump as to what level of tariffs on solar imports to apply so that the US solar industry can move forward without this metaphorical Sword of Damocles hanging over its head.
On Wednesday, Abigail Ross Hopper, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO, penned a personal letter (PDF) to Donald Trump, urging him to “consider the real impact on American jobs and our economy” if he were to impose “high tariffs in line with the International Trade Commission’s recommendation.” Specifically, she warned that such tariffs would “lead to the layoff of tens of thousands of workers, cause companies to stop investing in the United States, and bring an American economic engine screeching to a halt.”
Donald Trump has made bringing back American manufacturing jobs a key part of his campaign and Presidency — although, at this point, he has been little able to follow through on this promise, misreading the global economy as he has. Unsurprisingly, Abigail Ross Hopper highlights this very point in her letter, explaining that “the very jobs we all want to grow, American manufacturing jobs, will retract as the number of projects are scaled back significantly. This is not hype,” she continues, “this is what will happen.”
“While it may seem counterintuitive, the real America First Plan in the solar sector requires us to protect and add to the jobs we have,” she concludes. “This will help national security, add jobs, boost innovation and help the economy. As I know you’ve read, we employ more than 260,000 Americans in well-paid jobs. Most of our jobs do not require a college education.”
“Victory in this case means saying no to high tariffs, permitting this incredible growth industry to flourish and allowing Li-Anh, Joseph, and DeJuan to keep their jobs.”
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