US President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order imposing a 15 percent tariff on products made from polysilicon and setting minimum import prices on polysilicon and related products.. Polysilicon is a high-purity form of silicon commonly used as a raw material in solar panels and semiconductors..
The EO will come into effect on December 4, 2026. The minimum import prices will be set at $21 a kilogram for polysilicon, $100 a kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, $0.22 a watt for solar cells, and $0.38 a watt for solar modules or panels.. Tariffs are paid by the importer, not the exporter.. – Gage Skidmore.
The executive order said that, for decades, “America has allowed foreign countries to weaken United States producers in the polysilicon sector – eroding our economic and national security.”. It went on to state that the actions outlined in the order are based on advice and information Trump received from the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, who found that since 2020, global production of polysilicon has grown by more than 270 percent and inventories reached a record high of 400,000 tons by the end of 2024..
However, the order argued that imports of the material had impacted its production capacity in the US, with the country’s share of polysilicon production capacity falling from 50 percent in 2005 to less than two percent in 2024.. Around 90 percent of the world’s polysilicon production originates in China..
“For decades, foreign governments – recognizing the strategic importance of polysilicon and polysilicon derivatives – designed policies to increase the production of these products in their countries, which have come at the expense of the United States industry. These policies contributed to global oversupply in polysilicon and polysilicon derivative sectors,” the order read..
In addition to imposing tariffs and minimum import prices, the US government will begin offering incentives to companies that invest in US production of polysilicon and polysilicon derivatives.. More in IT Hardware & Semiconductors. 15 Apr 2026.
04 Aug 2026. More in North America. 14 Apr 2026.
05 May 2026
