The U.S. solar industry could see a 10% drop in installations over the next four years under a tariff on imported solar cells and panels approved on Jan. 22 by President Trump.
Starting in 15 days, the tariffs will exempt the first 2.5 GW of imports. After that, a 30% tariff will be in place for one year, followed by tariffs that decline 5% every year for four years, ending in 2022. The tariff was sought by solar-cell manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld, which operate in the U.S. They claimed they were unfairly harmed by cheap Chinese imports.