Trump Imposes 15% Tariffs on Solar Panel And Semiconductor Components

US President Donald Trump has announced 15% tariffs and minimum import prices on essential components used in the manufacture of solar panels and semiconductors, citing national security concerns over the country’s dependence on foreign suppliers of strategic materials.

The measures target polysilicon — a key raw material in solar panel production and a critical input for the semiconductor industry — and were announced Thursday by the White House, which said the goal is to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers, strengthen domestic processing capacity and secure supply chains for the energy and advanced-technology sectors.

The restrictions were incorporated into an executive order issued by the White House, grounded in an investigation by the Department of Commerce conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

That investigation concluded that imports of polysilicon and its derivatives ‘threaten to impair’ US national security, and the order directs the imposition of restrictions to reinforce domestic production.

The measures cover polysilicon, silicon ingots, silicon wafers, solar cells and photovoltaic modules. They are set to enter into force on 4 December.

The order mandates that the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security oversee implementation and assess whether further adjustments are needed to protect the domestic industry.

Although the executive order does not explicitly name China, it comes against the backdrop of China’s dominance of global polysilicon production and much of the solar supply chain.

Despite the new restrictions, leading Chinese solar equipment and materials manufacturers rallied sharply on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges in response to the announcement.

Polysilicon producers led the gains, with Xinte Energy rising 9.4%, Tongwei up 6.74% and GCL advancing 6.72%. Major photovoltaic component makers also gained ground, including Xinyi Solar (+6.47%), Jinko Solar (+2.53%) and Longi Green Energy (+2.2%).

The calm reaction from investors reflects the view within the companies themselves that the measures will have a limited impact. Unidentified sources at Trina Solar told news agency EFE that polysilicon represents just one link in the company’s production chain, and that direct sales to the US market are minimal, frequently conducted through third parties.

Meanwhile, sector giants such as Longi Green Energy have been restructuring their US operations and adjusting their supply chains to meet local requirements, seeking to navigate trade tensions as well as overcapacity and intense competition in China’s domestic market.

The US government recently disclosed that it has already reimbursed $100 billion (€86.8 billion) in tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), after those duties were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.

The surcharges were originally announced in April 2025 by President Trump, who dubbed the occasion ‘Liberation Day’, but were struck down earlier this year by the country’s highest court, which ruled that the White House had exceeded its authority in invoking IEEPA to impose the tariffs.

Since that ruling, the Trump administration has been seeking alternative legal avenues to continue using tariffs punitively in its international trade relationships. In response to the Supreme Court decision, it applied a blanket 10% tariff, imposed on a temporary basis for 150 days.

At the expiry of that period, at the end of July, the US government announced the imposition of additional surcharges on 60 trading partners, justified as a penalty against countries that have not banned the importation of goods manufactured with forced labour.

The latest executive order targeting solar and semiconductor inputs marks another step in the administration’s broader effort to use trade measures — grounded in national security law rather than emergency economic powers — to reshape global supply chains and promote domestic industrial capacity.