President Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar panel components on Jan. 22.

In a statement, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that, after consulting with the interagency Trade Policy Committee and the U.S. International Trade Commission, the president decided that "increased foreign imports solar cells and modules are a substantial cause of serious injury to domestic manufacturers."

A 30 percent tariff will be imposed on solar panel components, with the rate declining over four years.

The tariffs stand to benefit two foreign-owned makers of solar panels with U.S. operations. Source: WikipediaTariffs also were imposed on the import of washing machines.

The solar tariff amounts to 30 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second year, 20 percent in the third year, and 15 percent in the fourth year. Additionally, the first 2.5 gigawatts of imported solar cells are exempt from the tariff in each of the four years.

Two manufacturers, Georgia-based Suniva and Oregon-based Solar-World, have complained about competing with less expensive panels produced in Asia. According to Bloomberg, Suniva has a Chinese majority owner and Solar-World is a unit of German manufacturer SolarWorld AG.

“It boggles my mind that this president – any president, really – would voluntarily choose to damage one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy,” said Tony Clifford, chief development officer at Standard Solar. “This decision is misguided and denies the reality that bankrupt foreign companies will be the beneficiaries of an American taxpayer bailout.”

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates that a tariff at this level will eliminate American manufacturing jobs. There were 38,000 jobs in solar manufacturing in the U.S. at the end of 2016, and all but 2,000 made something other than cells and panels, the subject of this case, SEIA says.

Solar panel prices have fallen by more than 70 percent since 2010, according to SEIA.