Senator Markey Slams Trump Solar Tariff as Job Killer, Harmful to Massachusetts Clean Energy Economy

Press Release

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) was joined today by solar energy and union leaders to blast the recent Trump administration decision to place a tariff on imported solar panels and cells, putting thousands of Massachusetts solar energy jobs at risk. At a press conference at SunBug Solar, a regional solar developer and installer based in Arlington, Massachusetts, Senator Markey pointed to the success of the solar energy industry in Massachusetts that supports nearly 15,000 jobs. The Trump solar tariff could lead to the loss of 23,000 solar jobs across the country. The solar industry had been poised to create 100,000 additional jobs over the next three years across the country, with 2,500 of them in Massachusetts.

"President Trump's solar tariff is clouding prospects for the Massachusetts solar industry's bright future, raising costs and attacking the growth of blue-collar jobs," said Senator Markey, chair of the Senate Climate Task Force. "The Trump Tariff will hurt workers, hurt homeowners who want to save on their electricity bills, and hurt a future with cleaner air, cleaner water, and fewer impacts from climate change. We need to keep the sun shining on solar energy."

In October 2017, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recommended several measures in a trade case that could harm the domestic solar industry, including enacting steep new tariffs or instituting quotas. In August 2017, Senator Markey joined Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and a bipartisan group of Senators urging the ITC to not impose protectionist measures that would negatively affect the American solar industry. The Solar Energy Industries Association reports that 23,000 solar workers nationwide will lose jobs because of President Trump's tariff.

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