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(Reuters) - The U.S. solar industry is losing out on the creation of around 62,000 jobs and $19 billion in investment thanks to Trump administration tariffs on imported panels imposed nearly two years ago, according to a report published on Tuesday.

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Amonix's CPV solar panel cells are seen next to cactus at the Lyle Center on the Cal Poly Pomona campus in Pomona, California January 17, 2012. A fledgling but fast-growing solar technology, also known as concentrating photovoltaics, or CPV, that multiplies the sun's power up to many hundreds of times promises to deliver cheaper electricity than traditional panels and has received the backing of some major industry players. Amonix's CPV solar panel cells, currently being tested at the Lyle Center, has quietly emerged in the last year as the solar panel market's fastest growing technology. Picture taken January 17, 2012. To match Analysis SOLAR/CPV REUTERS/Alex Gallardo (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENERGY)

The industry’s top trade group, the U.S. Solar Industries Association (SEIA), released the study two days before federal trade officials are due to hold a hearing to review the impact of the tariffs on solar panels.

The outcome of the International Trade Commission’s midterm review could decide whether President Donald Trump makes changes to or even cancels the four-year tariff that was imposed in early 2018. The levy started at 30%, and is designed to drop by five percentage points each year.

If that regime is left unchanged, the solar industry will create 62,000 fewer jobs than it otherwise would have between 2017 and 2021, SEIA said in the study. That’s more than the 53,000 workers in the U.S. coal mining industry, according to government data.

The $19 billion in lost investment equates to 10.5 gigawatts in missed solar energy installations,

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