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U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S | Photo Credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN
US President Donald Trump ordered new tariffs as well as price floors on imported polysilicon used in semiconductors and solar panels, warning that US reliance on foreign supplies threatens national security.
Under Trump’s directive, imported polysilicon derivatives, including silicon wafers, photovoltaic cells and solar modules, will be subject to 15% tariffs, beginning Dec. 4. The president signed the proclamation on Thursday.
The measure also sets minimum import prices of $21 per kilogram for polysilicon; $100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers; 22 cents per watt for solar cells and 38 cents per watt for solar modules.
The action is meant to encourage domestic production of polysilicon and goods made from it, potentially helping nurture a US solar supply chain that has struggled for more than a decade to take root in the US. The measures follow a series of US trade cases that have resulted in duties on solar equipment from China and some Southeast Asian nations. Foreign manufacturers have been found shifting production among countries to dodge tariffs. 
The new import fees also threaten to raise the cost of solar modules, another headwind for renewable power developers already navigating the loss of federal subsidies and a Trump administration pivot in favor of rival fossil fuels.
While the US was once a leader producing polysilicon in the early to mid 2000s, Chinese companies rose to prominence and by the end of the last decade were the world’s dominant producer.  
The order directs an incentive program meant to lure US production of polysilicon and its derivative products, with the Commerce secretary authorized to enter into company-specific deals to incentivize those investments.
Companies also will be able to win tariff relief in some cases tied to their investments in the US — so-called onshoring plans that will be vetted by the Commerce secretary, under Trump’s order. Firms with onshoring plans that win the administration’s approval will be able to import some necessary production equipment and inputs without paying the newly ordered tariffs.
The delayed tariff implementation is a blow to US manufacturers that had warned it will give renewable power developers time to surge cheap imports and build a stockpile of duty-free equipment. But Trump’s order says that the administration will police trade and act to restrict imports by companies found to be stockpiling polysilicon or polysilicon derivatives.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Published on August 7, 2026
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