File this one under collateral damage. Just another data point supporting the notion that tariffs don't happen in a vacuum. There are negative consequences for other sectors of the economy for trying to enforce protectionist policies. In this case, US companies are shelving expansion plans and new solar projects that would have created US jobs because of the import tariffs being slapped on foreign panel manufacturers. Target foreign firms and you shoot yourself in the foot anyway.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/billions-in-solar-projects-shelved-after-trump-panel-tariff/ar-AAyl35hPresident Donald Trump’s tariff on imported solar panels has led U.S. renewable energy companies to cancel or freeze investments of more than $2.5 billion in large installation projects, along with thousands of jobs, the developers told Reuters.
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The tariff’s bifurcated impact on the solar industry underscores how protectionist trade measures almost invariably hurt one or more domestic industries for every one they shield from foreign competition. Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, for instance, have hurt manufacturers of U.S. farm equipment made with steel, such as tractors and grain bins, along with the farmers buying them at higher prices.
White House officials did not respond to a request for comment.
You know why they don't comment on these issues? Because they're only concerned with
looking like they're winning. They have no idea how to actually win. Distorting the market and causing US job losses? Not winning. The rest of the article details thousands of job losses related to the shelving of these projects.
