Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, told Newsmax that American companies making solar panels "can't compete with slave labor in China," saying that "it's morally wrong and economically stupid."
"There's an opportunity for us here in the United States to do exactly what needs to be done," Ryan told Greta Van Susteren on "The Record" in an interview in July. "I was just in Toledo, Ohio, at Toledo Solar. We can produce solar panels here in the United States, but we can't compete with slave labor in China."
He added: "We're trying to improve the environment here. China's terrible on all of these issues. But if we're going to rebuild the middle class here in the United States, we can't ask our workers here, our companies here, to compete with slave labor, and that’s exactly what's happening."
Ryan later said, "I think we need to rely on American-made solar panels," adding, "I also think we need to significantly expand natural gas in the United States," which would "create a lot of jobs here in America, and we can have a significant impact on carbon in Europe, carbon in China.
"Wwe can sell it abroad through liquid natural gas. There's many different aspects here, but if we're going to dominate these industries in the future, we can't compete with slave labor."