US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday to set minimum import prices and new tariffs on products made using polysilicon, a key material for solar panels and semiconductors.
Such products face a 15-per cent tariff starting December 4, the order said.
It also outlined minimum import prices for polysilicon and goods like wafers and solar cells to take effect on the same date.
The aim is “to create a level playing field for American producers of these strategic goods,” and to “encourage onshoring of these industries,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
It added that polysilicon is an important component in the semiconductor industry with defense-related uses.
The move comes after a year-long Commerce Department probe on imports of the material, which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called a “foundational product” going into chips.
“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 on Thursday.
“We’re setting prices so that the Chinese can’t dump anymore, and we’re setting tariffs to say build it here. We’ve got the industry here; it’s too small, and it’s going to explode under your leadership,” he added, referring to Trump.
The US share of global polysilicon production capacity has dropped from 50 per cent in 2005 to less than two per cent in 2024, the White House said.The Commerce Department launched an investigation in July 2025 on polysilicon imports, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.This was the same authority that Trump previously used to slap steep tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, autos and other products.While the investigation did not initially name countries, China is a major player in the world’s solar supply chain.
Thursday’s announcement marks the latest salvo by Trump, who has slapped sweeping tariffs on US trading partners since returning to the White House last year.
While a wide range of these duties were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, his sector-specific tariffs justified by Section 232 investigations remain intact.
Last month, the president also turned to different legal justifications to impose new duties on 60 trading partners, rebuilding his tariff wall after his high court setback.
