President Donald Trump will impose a 15% tariff on certain polysilicon-derivative products, citing a national security threat from imports he said have eroded U.S. production capacity for materials used in semiconductor and solar manufacturing.
The duty, which will go into effect on Dec. 4, applies to polysilicon ingots and specified derivatives, including solar cells and certain semiconductor devices, with imported polysilicon and derivatives also falling under a minimum import price program, according to a proclamation issued by Trump on Thursday.
The Section 232 tariff will replace a narrower safeguard tariff on solar cells and modules that expired in February, the proclamation says. The previous duty dates to Trump's first term.
For covered products from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and European Union members, the proclamation sets the combined total of the new duty and existing levies at 15%. Meanwhile, covered products from the United Kingdom would face a 10% tariff.
Minimum import prices set by the proclamation include $21 per kilogram for polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for solar cells and $0.38 per watt for solar modules.
The Commerce Secretary may adjust minimum import prices based on market conditions or other factors affecting the fair market value of covered products, per the proclamation.
"The plan of action in this proclamation will, among other things, help ensure the commercial viability of United States production of polysilicon and its derivatives that is necessary to meet United States economic and national security requirements," the proclamation says.
Beyond implementing tariffs and the price floor program, the proclamation also directs the Commerce Secretary to establish a program under which companies can submit plans to onshore production of covered products in exchange for tariff relief, mirroring a similar directive Trump made in relation to aluminum tariffs.
Companies that receive approval for plans to build, refurbish or expand a U.S. facility producing covered products may import goods and production equipment needed to establish the facility without paying the additional duty, provided “sufficient progress” is made on the commitments, the proclamation says. The Commerce Secretary will determine allowable duty-free import volumes based on a company’s newly committed investment.
The Trump administration has imposed Section 232 tariffs on several sectors, including previously on the semiconductor industry. In January, the president signed a proclamation that imposed a 25% tariff on a narrow range of semiconductor imports, primarily advanced computing chips. The tariffs do not apply to chips imported to support the buildout of the U.S. technology supply chain or to bolster domestic manufacturing capacity for semiconductor derivatives.
