Trump Sets Minimum Import Prices on Solar and Chip Materials and Adds a 15% Tariff Starting Dec. 4

In a proclamation issued Aug. 6, 2026, under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, President Trump set minimum import prices on polysilicon and its derivatives: $21 per kilogram for polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for polysilicon ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for solar cells and $0.38 per watt for solar modules. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Dec. 4, 2026, importers must certify that the first arm’s-length U.S. sale will occur at or above the applicable price; those who do not submit documentation face a specific tariff equal to the full minimum price, and those entering below it pay the difference. Importers filing materially inaccurate documentation — and their affiliates — “shall permanently be prohibited” from importing the covered goods. The proclamation also imposes an additional 15 percent ad valorem duty on covered ingots and derivatives, caps the combined rate at 15 percent for Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and EU members, and sets 10 percent for the United Kingdom. Companies that submit approved onshoring plans committing to start U.S. construction by Jan. 20, 2029, may import equipment and covered products duty-free in volumes Commerce deems commensurate with the investment.

The measure replaces a narrower solar safeguard tariff from Trump’s first term that expired in February 2026, and extends it upstream into semiconductor-grade material. A minimum import price is a floor on resale, not just a border duty, which gives Commerce continuing control over domestic pricing — the proclamation lets the Secretary adjust the floors “from time to time to reflect market conditions.” The permanent import ban for documentation failures is an unusually severe compliance penalty for a trade action.

The tariffs and price floors take effect Dec. 4, 2026. Commerce must publish the necessary tariff-schedule modifications in the Federal Register. No litigation over the proclamation has been reported.