Solar Jobs Lost to Trump's Tariffs

The 2018 solar panel tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration are decreasing U.S. solar jobs, but under-priced foreign panels also damage the solar industry labor force.

Tariffs inflicted on imported solar panels put 350 solar construction jobs at risk in Hillsboro, Oregon, not long after the production plant’s Germany-based owner SolarWorld declared bankruptcy and had previously laid off 360 workers last year, according to The Oregonian.

However California-based SunPower purchased the national manufacturing source, transferring some of its high-level manufacturing back inland from the Philippines and Malaysia, so it won’t be subjected to the tariffs.

LG Electronics also declared that it would invest $28 million to initiate an exceptional solar module manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama, and generate 160 jobs.

But these instances of solar jobs may be a drop in the bucket when matched to what is being lost, and U.S. solar panel companies may not replace those jobs as immediately as they are lost.

$100 Million In Solar Tax Breaks

The state of Oregon provided SolarWorld tax credits and property tax breaks valued at roughly $100 million and the corporation began manufacturing solar panels in 2008, but it reportedly grappled poorly due to plummeting solar prices are driven by a surge of imports, according to the article in The Oregonian.

SunPower and other companies had complained of the Trump Administration’s tariff, while SolarWorld and others U.S. companies fought for them, citing Chinese manufacturers dropping solar panels on the domestic market in order to underprice U.S. manufacturers.

The tariff has reduced solar projects and began to move the solar installer and other solar job losses in the United States. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that 2018 tariffs will eliminate 23,000 jobs from the U.S. solar industry, according to a novel Fast Company report on the workforce impacts from various Trump tariffs.

Solar Job Declines

Most of those solar production job declines are solar installers, a career once recognized as one of the fastest growing U.S. jobs into 2025.

However, India’s Parliament Standing Committee on Commerce has also announced under-priced solar panels produced in China have also overwhelmed India by at least 200,000 job losses, according to Energy world From The Economic Times.

The organization is requesting government action for critical trade measures to protect the nation’s national solar industry, according to the narrative.

Several U.S. state caps and legislative efforts are succeeding in records of a volatile solar industry and show its jobs are at stake.

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