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Welcome back to Current Climate. The Trump administration’s haphazard use of tariffs has complicated sourcing strategies and raised prices for U.S. manufacturers, as it’s seldom easy to find domestic suppliers who can seamlessly replace those in China or elsewhere. In the case of new tariffs for imported polysilicon and derivative products, solar cells and modules announced last week, some U.S.-based producers are likely to benefit, but costs may also rise across the industry.

Domestic solar panel production is booming, though most manufacturers use polysilicon from China and other key components from Southeast Asia. Starting in December, the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on polysilicon products and new minimum prices for imported polysilicon, polysilicon ingots and wafers, and solar cells and modules. Like steel and aluminum, the fees are being imposed under Section 232 trade guidelines, when reliance on certain imported goods is found to be a national security risk.

“The plan of action in this proclamation will, among other things, help ensure the commercial viability of United States production of polysilicon and its derivatives that is necessary to meet United States economic and national security requirements,” Trump said in announcing the plan.

There are U.S.-based producers of these materials and components, including Qcells, Corning, ES Foundry and Suniva, but they aren’t scaled up to fully replace imports. That suggests costs to build new solar power systems may rise next year. Meanwhile, imports could spike before the tariff and new pricing take effect.

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