President Trump said Tuesday he is not concerned about starting any trade war with other countries after he signed proclamations imposing tariffs on imports of solar panels and washing machines.
“There won’t be a trade war,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, after signing the proclamations. “Our action today helps to create jobs in America, for Americans.”
“We’re going to benefit our consumers, and we’re going to create a lot of jobs,” Trump said. “A lot of manufacturers will be coming to the United States to build both washing machines and also solar.”
Trump issued the tariffs under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, a rarely used section of trade law that provides a “safeguard” for industries harmed by imports.
The moves “uphold a principle of fair trade and demonstrate to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of anymore,” Trump said Tuesday.
In the solar case, Trump agreed to tariffs to be levied over four years, for 30 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second, 20 percent in the third, and 15 percent in the fourth year. The first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells will be exempt.
South Korea’s government has already it would “actively respond to U.S. trade protectionism,” including filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
China on Tuesday suggested it also may fight back.
“With regard to the wrong measures taken by the United States, China will work with other WTO members to resolutely defend our legitimate interests,” its Ministry of Commerce said.
The International Trade Commission had urged Trump to apply tariffs, ruling that U.S. solar panel manufacturers are being harmed by cheap imports from China and Southeast Asia. It had recommended in October a tariff of on solar cells of about 30 percent and a tariff on solar panels between 10 percent and 35 percent.
About 95 percent of the solar cells and panels sold in the U.S. are made abroad, with most coming from China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, according to SPV Market Research.
While the broader U.S. solar energy industry opposes tariffs, two U.S. companies asked the Trump administration to act.
In April, solar panel manufacturer Suniva, later joined by SolarWorld, petitioned the International Trade Commission for tariffs on solar cells and a price floor on modules for imports coming from anywhere in the world, arguing that cheap foreign products are harming the domestic panel industry.
Trump said domestic solar panel manufacturers have been “decimated and those companies will be coming back strong.”
But other companies across the solar industry warn that tariffs could harm the industry’s progress by increasing their costs and would force them to raise prices for consumers.
Most of the jobs in the U.S. solar industry are people installing solar-power systems on roofs, not manufacturing panels.
Abigail Ross Hopper, the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the main trade group for the industry, said Tuesday she expects 23,000 workers to lose their jobs as a result of the tariffs.
A 30 percent solar module tariff could increase the cost of residential rooftop solar systems by about 4 percent and the cost of distributed commercial solar projects by roughly 6 percent, according to an estimate by ClearView Energy Partners.
