Trump Places Tariffs on Key Material for Solar Panels, Semiconductors

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Written by Danny Levin, Deputy Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

President Donald Trump placed 15% tariffs and import price floors on imported polysilicon, a key material used in semiconductors and some solar panels, and downstream products such as solar components.

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Polysilicon's Importance

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order placing 15% tariffs on imported polysilicon, a key material used in semiconductors and some solar panels, and its derivative products such as ingots, wafers, solar cells and finished modules. The order also sets a minimum import price for the material and those solar components. The efforts aim to boost domestic polysilicon capacity and block cheap foreign imports.

Industrial Info Resources data show 46 capital polysilicon production and refining projects worth US$30 billion worldwide, about 70% of which is in China. Australia, Morocco and the U.S. round out the top four countries, with the U.S. home to a major production facility under construction.

Polysilicon, a highly purified form of silicon, is the main raw material for semiconductors, which power a wide variety of electronics and defense systems, and crystalline silicon solar panels. As such, the material is key to domestic economic and national security.

While the White House did not explicitly mention China's grip on polysilicon production, various figures indicate the country controls more than 90% of global production.

According to a fact sheet on the executive order, United States' share of global polysilicon production capacity dropped from 50% in 2005 to less than 2% in 2024. In addition, domestic share of global semiconductor wafer fabrication capacity decreased from 37% in 1990 to 10% in 2024; in terms of solar, the U.S. is "virtually entirely dependent on imports of solar ingots, wafers, and cells."

Trump's order also sets a minimum import price on the following:

• $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 two Section 232 trade measures are set to take effect December 4, 2026. Companies must begin construction on approved grassroot U.S. manufacturing, expansions or refurbishments by January 2029 in order to receive tariff relief.

While more domestic capacity is needed, the newly introduced pricing rules are expected to raise the cost of imported silicon-based products.

Major U.S. Project

Michigan-based Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC)--one of the nation's largest producers of hyper-pure polysilicon--is building out a major project: a $600 million+ expansion of its polysilicon plant in Hemlock, Michigan, will boost production capacity of semiconductor-grade polysilicon. Site work kicked off in March, although a formal completion date has not been announced. Industrial Info Resources offers more information on the Hemlock project in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database.

The Hemlock plant also supports solar module production. HSC is a majority-owned subsidiary of Corning, which sources Hemlock's polysilicon to supply Corning's adjacent, operational solar components plant. After the latter plant came online in the third quarter of 2025, the Solar Energy Industries Association said the U.S. now has the capacity to produce every major component of the solar supply chain.

Corning also has formed a partnership to provide the U.S. with the only solar modules made with polysilicon, wafers and cells manufactured in the states. For more information, see March 14, 2025, article - Three Companies Join to Create First 'Made in America' Solar Module Supply Chain.

Hemlock's production of hyper-pure polysilicon will meet a major need expressed by the White House: "polysilicon manufacturers are increasingly dependent on the production of lower purity, solar-grade polysilicon to achieve the production volumes necessary to sustain viable unit costs of production for all polysilicon, including semiconductor-grade polysilicon."

IIR is tracking Mission Solar Energy's proposed $265 million expansion of its manufacturing campus in San Antonio, Texas, that would add 1 gigawatt of explicitly polysilicon-sourced solar cell production capacity. Readers can view detailed information on the project, which could begin construction later this year. Mission Solar Energy is a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea-based OCI.

In announcing the project in March 2025, Mission Solar Energy said it will source the polysilicon from OCI's Malaysia-based unit, OCI TerraSus. The unit, through a joint venture with Tokuyama Corporation, is planning a grassroot plant in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia with a production capacity of 8,000 tons per year of high-purity semiconductor-grade polysilicon. View the project report here.

Readers can view a full list of polysilicon production and refining projects worldwide.

Key Takeaways

• President Donald Trump placed 15% tariffs on imported polysilicon and a variety of downstream solar components, in addition to setting minimum price imports for those.
• Polysilicon is a key material in semiconductors and crystalline silicon solar panels.
• China accounts for most of the global polysilicon production.
• US$30 billion: value of capital polysilicon production and refining projects worldwide, about 70% of which is in China.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).