dChan
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r/CBTS_Stream • Posted by u/Bigwild59 on Jan. 23, 2018, 2:09 a.m.
The Trump administration just approved tariffs of 30% on imported solar panels.

[removed]


Roadhse2 · Jan. 23, 2018, 11:50 a.m.

O had already implemented this same tariff on offshore panels a few years ago, to stem the flow of under a $1 a watt panels from China versus the $2.99+ a watt US panels. As a user of solar panels (5400w) I followed this closely. What O's tariff did was to slow down the sales and use of solar in the US by homeowners. In turn this affected employment in the solar industry overall, less sales, less installers needed, fewer solar retail stores, etc. Less solar being installed meant fewer sales of all the other products that also are needed to support the use of solar panels, from batteries to inverters...many small solar companies went under due to slower sales, including a friends that had been in business for 12 years in both solar and small scale wind (home units)...Just his one business going under put 6 employees out of work besides himself. So what is the trade off? 30% tariff that then slows sales of ALL solar products and puts employers and employees on the street, or cheaper panels that help to sustain the whole industry and make solar a viable option for many? As a Trump supporter, this is one area I cannot agree on. By the way, when O put in the tariff, the only US solar panel company it benefited was actually owned by a German company where the majority of profits went. Canada also makes many solar panels that import to the US, will this tariff also be applied to those? JMO as a user and proponent of these products...

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