US Imposes Tariffs, Price Floors on Polysilicon Imports

US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on August 6 imposing a 15% additional tariff on imported polysilicon derivatives and establishing minimum import prices for polysilicon and its derivative products, according to Xinhua News. The measures, which take effect December 4, 2026, are designed to protect and revitalize the US polysilicon industry—a critical material for both solar panels and semiconductors where China holds a dominant global position.

A Strategic Escalation in the Solar Trade Conflict

The proclamation invokes Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, following a year-long national security investigation launched by the US Commerce Department in July 2025, as Asia Times reported. Under the order, imported polysilicon faces a minimum price of $21 per kilogram, polysilicon ingots and wafers $100 per kilogram, solar cells $0.22 per watt, and solar modules $0.38 per watt.

The White House described the action as necessary to “create a level playing field for American producers of these strategic goods” and to “encourage onshoring of these industries,” according to Malay Mail/AFP. The US share of global polysilicon production capacity has collapsed from 50% in 2005 to less than 2% in 2024, the White House said in a fact sheet.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed the move as a supply chain imperative. “We’re making the products here, but we need the supply chain here. So this will bring the supply chain here,” Lutnick told reporters at the White House, as Global Banking & Finance Review/Reuters reported. “We’re setting prices so that the Chinese can’t dump anymore, and we’re setting tariffs to say build it here.”

China’s Dominance and the Stakes

Polysilicon sits at the foundation of both solar and semiconductor supply chains. By 2025, China controlled roughly 95-98% of global wafer production, 85-92% of cell output, and 80-85% of panel assembly, according to Asia Times. The chip industry accounts for only 2.4% of global polysilicon demand, but domestic semiconductor manufacturing depends on solar because the solar industry’s larger demand for polysilicon helps support production of the material required for chips—an interconnection central to the US national security argument.

The United States currently has only two polysilicon factories: Hemlock Semiconductor in Michigan, a joint venture between Corning and Japan’s Shin-Etsu Handotai, and Munich-based Wacker Chemie’s facility in Tennessee, as reported by Global Banking & Finance Review.

Beijing’s Response: Firm Opposition

China has firmly opposed the move. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told Global Times that “China firmly opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to unjustifiably suppress Chinese companies. Protectionism will not enhance US competitiveness.”

The spokesperson added that the US action “seriously impedes normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and American companies and serves the interests of no party, including American businesses and consumers.”

Chinese experts echoed these concerns. Huo Jianguo, vice chairperson of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, called the action “a blatant protectionist trade barrier that risks further straining bilateral trade and economic ties.” Lü Jinbiao, an industry expert with the China Photovoltaic Industry Association’s expert committee, argued the move “won’t provide any substantial support for bolstering US production capacity of polysilicon. On the contrary, it will raise costs for US solar industries.”

The announcement came just one day after China unveiled countermeasures against US trade restrictions, including strengthened export controls on drone-related dual-use items. A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson warned: “If the US insists on introducing new restrictive measures against China, China will take further countermeasures.”

Industry Reactions: Divided Perspectives

US solar manufacturers with domestic factories welcomed the move. Dan Barcelo, CEO of T1 Energy, called it “a decisive win for advanced American manufacturing and investment in domestic energy supply chains,” according to Global Banking & Finance Review. A Corning spokesperson said the decision “encourages continued investment in U.S. capacity and supports long-term U.S. competitiveness.”

Chinese solar companies signaled limited immediate impact. A Trina Solar spokesperson told China News Service via NetEase that “our exports to North America are relatively small, and shipments mainly go through partners, so the impact is limited for now.” A JinkoSolar spokesperson said the company needs “further research and analysis on the new US policy.”

However, trade attorney Tim Brightbill of Wiley Rein warned that the delayed implementation could trigger a surge of imports in the coming months before the December 4 deadline, as reported by Global Banking & Finance Review.

A 14-Year Escalation

The polysilicon tariffs represent the latest chapter in a 14-year US-China solar trade conflict. After China joined the WTO in 2001, local governments established scores of solar panel makers, and by 2012 China accounted for roughly 50-60% of global solar cell and module production. The sequence of US actions has been escalating: the Obama administration’s 2012 anti-dumping tariffs (which a major loophole let Chinese firms bypass), Trump’s 2018 tariffs that forced Chinese makers to relocate to Southeast Asia, and the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that subsidized Chinese firms to build US factories.

The current administration has taken a different approach. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, set rising domestic-content thresholds and barred tax credits for entities with significant Chinese ownership. Some Chinese commentators have described the policy shift as a “pig-butchering scam,” arguing that the Biden administration used tax credits to lure Chinese solar makers into building US factories, only for the Trump administration to slash those credits and effectively seize their investment, as Asia Times reported.

What’s Next

The Commerce Department is authorized to establish an incentive program to promote “reshoring” of polysilicon production. Companies committing to build, renovate, or expand polysilicon, ingot, wafer, or solar cell production facilities in the US with construction starting before January 20, 2029, may apply for exemptions from Section 232 tariffs on certain imported equipment.

Market reaction was immediate: China’s polysilicon futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange surged over 5% to 37,780 yuan per ton following the announcement, as NetEase/Xinhua reported.

Several questions remain. Will the delayed implementation trigger an import surge in the interim? Can the incentive program successfully attract new polysilicon production investment in the US? And how will China’s countermeasures evolve in response to this specific action? What is clear is that the US-China solar trade conflict has entered a new and more consequential phase—one that will shape the global solar and semiconductor industries for years to come.