Trump's 30% tariff hike on solar panels aimed at China, South Korea

In an 'America First' policy drive, The US administration said new barriers on solar panels and washing machines are aimed at protecting domestic production from cheap imports

President Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs on imports of solar panels and washing machines, kicking off his second year in office by showing he is ready to start implementing his long-promised “America First” trade policy.

The moves were announced Monday in response to U.S. industry pleas for relief from a recent flood of cheap imports and are the first of what administration officials said would be a series of trade-enforcement actions in the coming months.

The tariffs are aimed mainly at Asian manufacturers—Chinese makers of solar panels and South Korean producers of washing machines. But the administration announced