President imposes 15% duty and price floor on polysilicon imports
Importers of polysilicon and its derivatives must pay a 15 percent ad valorem duty and adhere to a new minimum-import-price program effective Aug. 6, 2026.
Proclamation 11052, dated August 6, 2026, establishes a minimum-import-price (MIP) program for polysilicon and its derivatives and imposes a 15 percent ad valorem duty on imports of polysilicon derivatives. The measures apply to all entities importing these articles into the United States and are authorized under the Secretary of Commerce's Section 232 investigation.
The Secretary's report notes that global polysilicon production has risen by more than 270 percent since 2020, with inventories reaching a record 400,000 tons at the end of 2024. U.S. share of global polysilicon production capacity fell from 50 percent in 2005 to less than 2 percent in 2024, while semiconductor-wafer fabrication capacity dropped from 37 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 2024. The United States now relies almost entirely on imports for solar ingots, wafers, and cells.
The MIP program is intended to create a commercially viable domestic market, while the 15 percent duty replaces a narrower safeguard tariff on solar cells and modules that expired in February 2026. The proclamation also authorizes the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to negotiate comparable import-adjusting actions with foreign trading partners that adopt substantially equivalent measures.
Finally, the President directs the Secretary to offer company-specific incentives for investments in U.S. polysilicon, ingot, wafer, and cell production facilities, supporting onshoring of the supply chain.
The provisions take effect upon issuance of the proclamation. Importers must comply with the duty and MIP requirements, and enforcement will be administered through Customs and Border Protection.