The U.S. President Donald Trump government imposed tariffs on imports of solar cells and modules from 2018 through 2021, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced in a statement late Monday.
The tariffs on solar modules and cells will be 30 percent this year, 25 percent next year, 20 percent in 2020 and 15 percent in 2021.
The first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells will be exempt from these tariffs during those four years, according to the statement.
"The decision effectively will cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year, including many in manufacturing, and it will result in the delay or cancellation of billions of dollars in solar investments," Solar Energy Industries Association said in a statement.
The U.S.' solar energy industry employs more than 260,000 workers, according to the non-profit national association.
In addition, tariffs were imposed on imported large residential washing machines for three years -- 20 percent in 2018, 18 percent in 2019 and 16 percent in 2020 for the first 1.2 million units of imported finished washers.
All subsequent imports of finished washing machines will see tariffs of 50 percent, 45 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
"[The U.S. International Trade Commission] ITC found that U.S. producers had been seriously injured by imports and made several recommendations to the President," Lighthizer said in the statement.
"Based on this information, the Trade Policy Committee developed recommendations, which the President has accepted," he added.
The move is seen as part of Trump's "America First" policy to protect domestic producers in their increasing competition against foreign manufacturers whose cheaper products have flooded the American market.
Trump has also pulled the U.S. out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement shortly after he took office, while hinting that he could withdraw his country from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as well.
However, the protectionist trade policies of Trump have raised tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners, such as Canada, Mexico, China and South Korea.
(Anadolu Agency)
