| Published Tue, January 23rd 2018 at 13:16, Updated January 23rd 2018 at 13:18 GMT +3US President Donald Trump on Monday took action in two pending trade disputes, imposing tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. Both actions represent Trump’s first tariff orders , which are also his most consequential trade actions since the early days of his presidency when he withdrew from a Pacific trade deal and launched negotiations to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. “There’s a real chance that this opens the floodgates,” said Chad Bown, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. On solar panels, Trump imposed tariffs of 30 percent in the first year, which will gradually fall to half that figure in four years. Tariffs make solar panels more expensive, and thus discourage their use, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Source: Standard Digital January 23, 2018 10:18 UTC