President Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing a 15% tariff on imported products made from polysilicon, a material essential to manufacturing semiconductors and solar panels.
The order also establishes minimum import prices for polysilicon and related products, following a national security investigation into how the material is produced overseas. The move is designed to protect American manufacturers as they face growing competition from China’s chip industry, a persistent point of friction between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s embassy in Washington said the measure seriously disrupts trade between the two countries and that Beijing would take action to protect its companies. The embassy accused Washington of abusing state power to target Chinese businesses, arguing that protectionism won’t make the U.S. more competitive.
In the order, Trump said he had accepted recommendations from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to establish both minimum import prices and the 15% tariff on polysilicon and related imports. The measures are scheduled to take effect in December, and the administration also plans to offer incentives aimed at boosting domestic production.
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Trump said the U.S. has for decades allowed foreign firms to undercut American producers in the polysilicon sector, reiterating his longstanding support for tariffs as a tool to protect American jobs and strengthen the economy.
He noted that the material is critical to military equipment and electronics, yet rising imports have caused the U.S. share of global polysilicon production to fall from 50% in 2005 to less than 2% in 2024. China currently holds a near monopoly on global polysilicon production.
The order is expected to benefit Hemlock Semiconductor and Wacker Chemie, the two primary producers of the material within the United States.
Chip production remains central to the broader race between the U.S. and China to advance artificial intelligence, and the two countries have been engaged in an ongoing tit-for-tat tariff dispute that has remained on hold since May 2025.
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Analysts cited by Chinese state media outlet Global Times described the new tariff as the latest escalation in Washington’s broader effort to limit China’s influence over critical technology supply chains, following earlier U.S. restrictions on imports of drones, humanoid robots and other Chinese tech products.
China announced a series of countermeasures this week in response, including tighter export controls on drones, and launched a national security review into imported printers and copiers.
