Trump to impose 30 percent tariff on solar cell imports

[Elegiac]

Global warming was just a Chinese hoax to sell us mountains of useless solar panels! Who needs that junk when we've got the biggest coal deposits in the world!

Excuse me while I go and clear my sinuses loudly into a megaphone.

[NED funded]

how about being competitive, rather than imposing artificial tariff.

The implication here is that China is a free market of any sort. It's not, and its abuses of the trade system need to stop. I'm glad this administration has the balls to confront it.

[Allybeboba]

You are looking at the wrong way, it is obvious that protectionist policies cost consumers, that is not the point, the point is to boost a specific industry and increase its market share. I don't think this tariffs can achieve that tho.

Short term for sure. Hopefully, in this particular case, in the long term it is a good investment for the future of the domestic photovoltaic cell industry.

Cheers

[NED funded]

Short term for sure. Hopefully, in this particular case, in the long term it is a good investment for the future of the domestic photovoltaic cell industry.

Cheers

It's not going to work. For two reasons:

a) There are no subsidies accompanying the tariffs and/or government policy generating demand for them.

b) China has a shit load of people. They can just throw people to solve its problems and outdo the US by sheer force of numbers.

The US should focus on protecting the current industries it has a leading advantage on. You cannot outdo China by being China, you have to play smarter.

[Jimmy Woods]

Maybe this has to do with under Trump the US-China trade deficit hit an all time high in 2017.

It's weird he chooses to go after solar, but I guess anything to piss off liberals I guess. If you're a company that uses imported Chinese steel or aluminum you have to breathing a short term sigh of relief he hasn't increased your input costs by 30% just yet. So that's a win?

With the US dollar losing over 10% of it's value under Trump's first year and now Trump wanting to put tariffs on imports doesn't that scream massive inflation? I dunno, it's been so long since I've taken an economics course, but paying more and getting less seems like a bad way to run a countries economy.

[Draco-Onis]

The implication here is that China is a free market of any sort. It's not, and its abuses of the trade system need to stop. I'm glad this administration has the balls to confront it.

Let's not kid ourselves this has nothing to do with confronting China but everything to do with giving the appearance of bring back coal and fossil fuels. This is not going to hurt China we've done a pretty darn good job screwing our standing on green energy by getting out of the Paris accord.

[mvaliz]

Excuse me while I go and clear my sinuses loudly into a megaphone.

I think I found my favorite quote of the month! Thanks! ^_^

[Allybeboba]

It's not going to work. For two reasons:

a) There are no subsidies accompanying the tariffs and/or government policy generating demand for them.

b) China has a shit load of people. They can just throw people to solve its problems and outdo the US by sheer force of numbers.

The US should focus on protecting the current industries it has a leading advantage on. You cannot outdo China by being China, you have to play smarter.

I am hoping it will spur R&D in the photovoltaic cell industry.

Cheers

[Draco-Onis]

I am hoping it will spur R&D in the industry.

Cheers

roflmao that's a good joke.

[Deleted]

Trump does so much good stuff, why isn't America cheering for they never had a better life than under President Trump?

[Endus]

I am hoping it will spur R&D in the industry.

Cheers

In what, the coal industry?

Maybe we should provide subsidies to alchemists, and blacksmiths, and telegraph operators, I'm sure those industries are due for major research upheavals any day now. Why invest in cutting-edge technology that's experiencing a massive global uptake of users every year.

[Allybeboba]

In what, the coal industry?

Maybe we should provide subsidies to alchemists, and blacksmiths, and telegraph operators, I'm sure those industries are due for major research upheavals any day now. Why invest in cutting-edge technology that's experiencing a massive global uptake of users every year.

All of my posts in this thread have been in reference to the photovoltaic cell industry. I shall edit it for you.
This thread isn’t about coal. Please stay on topic.

Cheers

[minteK917]

The implication here is that China is a free market of any sort. It's not, and its abuses of the trade system need to stop. I'm glad this administration has the balls to confront it.

The implication is that anybody that thinks there is such a thing as a free market in the world is pretty much an idiot out of touch with reality. This is just about increasing the prices in America. The biggest country in the world. its kinda like when Beoing whine about other airplane builders getting government money across the globe, while the american government injects billions into it lol.

[Endus]

All of my posts in this thread have been in reference to the photovoltaic cell industry. I shall edit it for you.
This thread isn’t about coal. Please stay on topic.

Cheers

Then the issue is your point makes no sense. Imposing tariffs won't drive R&D, because it doesn't provide any revenue to fund that R&D.

That's why I assumed you had to be talking about the subsidization of the coal industry, since that's the only one relevant to this discussion that IS getting such funding.

[downnola]

The US should focus on protecting the current industries it has a leading advantage on. You cannot outdo China by being China, you have to play smarter.

The smart play is to buy cheap solar panels from China and focus investment elsewhere.

[minteK917]

All of my posts in this thread have been in reference to the photovoltaic cell industry. I shall edit it for you.
This thread isn’t about coal. Please stay on topic.

Cheers

That could work if the intention was to take this tariff money and inject it directly in American solar panel industry as R&D subvention or credits, no such a thing was said or declared.

[Draco-Onis]

The smart play is to buy cheap solar panels from China and focus investment elsewhere.

That is what the industry was doing and growing buying parts from China cheap and focus on innovation and expertise here which is why solar jobs have kept growing. This tariff will hurt the solar industry and cost thousands of jobs it's not really about helping solar but about helping fossil fuels.

[NED funded]

The implication is that anybody that thinks there is such a thing as a free market in the world is pretty much an idiot out of touch with reality. This is just about increasing the prices in America. The biggest country in the world. its kinda like when Beoing whine about other airplane builders getting government money across the globe, while the american government injects billions into it lol.

As far as I'm aware Euros only managed to find one case where Boeing and US coperation that broke WTO rules and that is being currently challenged. And while it is technically true that there is no "true free market", most developed nations follow certain principles which seek to make trade between nations more fair and free. China doesn't, which is why its labeled a non-market economy.

[Allybeboba]

Then the issue is your point makes no sense. Imposing tariffs won't drive R&D, because it doesn't provide any revenue to fund that R&D.

That's why I assumed you had to be talking about the subsidization of the coal industry, since that's the only one relevant to this discussion that IS getting such funding.

Americans will start purchasing from domestic companies. Those domestic companies in turn will invest in R&D to make better/cheaper photovoltaic cells over the long term.
As it stands now, China has the upper hand because of their inexpensive manufacturing techniques. I provided a list on the 1st page of the top companies.

[lockedout]

If this was done as some sort of twisted effort to get the US to produce Solar energy, I'd almost be for it.

But this is Donnie Deplorable "Clean Coal" Dump we're talking about... so I think this is more likely an effort to probably try to stop Solar from going forward than anything.

Your hate for Trump is just ridiculous at this point try comprehending what the tariff will do.