Trump administration imposes 15% tariff on polysilicon and key semiconductor materials to counter China
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing a 15% tariff on imported products made from polysilicon, a crucial material used in semiconductors and solar panels. The order also set minimum import prices on polysilicon and related products, following a national security investigation into overseas production of the material.
The move aims to protect US manufacturers facing increasing competition from China's chip industry, a key source of friction between the world's two largest economies. The Chinese embassy in Washington said the tariff "seriously disrupts" trade between the two countries and that Beijing will act to protect its companies. Washington is "abusing state power to go after Chinese businesses," the embassy stated, adding that protectionism will not make the US more competitive.
Trump said in the order that he had accepted recommendations by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to set minimum import prices as well as the 15% tariff on polysilicon and related imports. The measures are due to take effect in December, with the US also offering incentives to boost domestic production.
For decades, the US has allowed "foreign firms to weaken United States producers in the polysilicon sector," said Trump, who has long advocated using tariffs to protect American jobs and boost the economy. The material is critical in military equipment and electronics. Yet imports have led the US share of global polysilicon production to fall from 50% in 2005 to less than 2% in 2024. China holds a near monopoly on polysilicon production.
The order is likely to benefit Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemie, the main producers of polysilicon in the US.
Computer chip production is central to the race between the US and China to develop artificial intelligence. Washington and Beijing have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war, which has been on hold since May 2025.
Analysts quoted by Chinese state media outlet Global Times said the new tariff marks the latest escalation in Washington's efforts to limit China's role in critical technology supply chains. The move follows other US restrictions on imports of drones, humanoid robots, and other tech products from China.
China announced a range of countermeasures this week, including tighter export controls on drones. Beijing also launched a national security review into imported printers and copiers.