On January 22, 2018 the Trump administration placed $8.5 billion in tariffs on imports of solar modules and cells in an attempt to shield U.S. industry from unfair global competition from China and South Korea. The Solar Energy Industry Association has released a report laying out the estimated economic impact of the tariffs. According to the report, Chinese solar modular makers have set up factories in Malaysia and Vietnam to avoid the tariffs, so the modular brands entering the U.S. market are much the same as before, but at higher prices. In addition, an estimated 62,000 jobs were lost or not created in the U.S. as a result of the retaliatory Chinese tariffs.
For more information, please contact Steve O’Day or Phillip Hoover.