US President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday imposing minimum import prices (MIP) and a 15-percent tariff on polysilicon, the primary raw material used to manufacture semiconductors and solar panels, and related products.
The new trade measures are expected to have only a limited impact on Taiwan’s solar manufacturers, according to industry representatives.
The tariffs, which take effect Dec. 4, would apply in addition to any other tariffs, taxes or fees on the affected products, according to a statement released by the White House.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
However, for imports from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and EU member states, the combined tariff rate would be capped at 15 percent.
The tariff rate on products from the UK would be capped at 10 percent.
The minimum import prices are set at US$21 per kilogram for polysilicon, US$100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, US$0.22 per watt for solar cells and US$0.38 per watt for solar modules.
The measures follow a yearlong investigation by the US Department of Commerce, which found that imports had “eroded” the capacity of the US polysilicon industry.
The US share of global polysilicon production capacity fell from 50 percent in 2005 to less than 2 percent in 2024, the White House said.
“These tariffs, combined with the MIP program, will promote US production of polysilicon derivatives by ensuring a commercially viable market for them,” Trump said in the statement. “They will also replace a similar but narrower safeguard tariff on solar cells and modules that I imposed in my first term, and which expired in February 2026.”
Henry Chiang (江郅豪), vice president of solar cell maker TSEC Corp, said that Taiwanese products would face more favorable tariff treatment than those from major competitors such as China and several Southeast Asian countries.
The difference would limit the impact of the measures on Taiwanese suppliers, Chiang said.
He added that US polysilicon production remains insufficient to meet domestic demand, meaning US manufacturers would continue to rely on imports.
The measures were therefore likely to raise costs in the US market without significantly changing the industry’s competitive landscape, he said.
Another Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer, United Renewable Energy Co (UREC), said the measures were aimed at reducing US dependence on imports and strengthening domestic production.
UREC said they were expected to benefit US polysilicon producers and expressed hope that Washington would offer preferential treatment to foreign companies that had invested or pledged to invest in the US.
UREC said that, as Washington promotes domestic manufacturing, it had not ruled out expanding its investment and production capacity in the US while maintaining its manufacturing base in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association (TPIA) said US efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese imports could create opportunities for US manufacturers to cooperate with Taiwanese companies through technology licensing or contract manufacturing.
The association said the measures could accelerate the development of closer industrial partnerships between Taiwan and the US.
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