Overview
- The White House signed a Section 232 proclamation on Thursday that levies a 15% ad valorem tariff on polysilicon derivative products and creates a minimum import price program that will take effect 120 days after signing on Dec. 4, 2026.
- The administration set explicit price floors of $21 per kilogram for polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for solar cells, and $0.38 per watt for solar modules.
- The proclamation authorizes the Commerce Department to run an incentive program to subsidize U.S. investment in polysilicon and downstream manufacturing to make domestic plants commercially viable.
- U.S. solar developers and foreign suppliers warned the combined tariff and price floors will raise raw-material costs and could push up project and consumer prices, while governments including South Korea have begun consultations with Washington.
- The action responds to a yearlong polysilicon national‑security probe and targets a market dominated by China, which held roughly 93.5% of global output in 2024, raising legal and diplomatic risks and the possibility of import surges before the December start date.