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Trump’s solar tariff gamble pays off for now

Well that was fast.

Barely one week after President Donald Trump announced a stiff 30 percent tariff on Chinese-made solar panels, a leading Chinese solar company announced plans to build a plant inside the United States.

Jinko Solar made the plant building announcement Monday. It’s reportedly hoping to build that plant for about $410 million in Jacksonville, Florida, create 800 new American jobs, and thus avoid the new tariffs. Obviously, much of the detailed planning was done before the tariff announcement. But the company’s official statement hinted that the final decision was tied to the new tariffs, saying that the company “continues to closely monitor treatment of imports of solar cells and modules under the U.S. trade laws.”

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