To protect their domestic industry, the US is raising the cost of semiconductor and solar cell imports starting in December. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed a decree mandating a minimum import price for the raw material polysilicon—as well as products made from it—and imposing a 15 percent tariff on products containing polysilicon. The measures take effect 120 days after signing, meaning early December. They are directed primarily at China.
The goal of the decree is “to bring industrial capacity and our supply of essential goods back to the U.S. and to protect U.S. industry from dangerous foreign actors,” said White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf at the signing. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “We manufacture the products here at home, but we also need the supply chain here.” Minimum import prices were being introduced “so that the Chinese can no longer undercut our prices.”
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According to the specialist service Thunder Said Energy, China accounted for more than 90 percent of global polysilicon production in 2024. According to the US government, the US market share in polysilicon production fell from 50 percent in 2005 to just two percent in 2024. The US Department of Commerce had launched an investigation in July 2025.
The new tariff on polysilicon is based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which provides for the protection of domestic production on grounds of national security. It also serves as the basis for high US tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, automobiles, and other products.
Author: AFP – ilo/oer
Sources: AFP press portal