US President Donald Trump signed an order Thursday to set tariffs linked to imports of polysilicon, a key material used in solar panels and semiconductors, a White House official said.
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.
“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.
But officials did not immediately provide details such as the tariff level or price floors that products will face.
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 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 tariffs on 60 trading partners, rebuilding his tariff wall after his high court setback.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
