Trump Signs Order Imposing Price Floor, Tariffs on Polysilicon to Counter China

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (L) and President Donald Trump look on before signing an executive order on election integrity in the Oval Office of the White House on March 31, 2026. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 6 establishing a price floor and tariffs on polysilicon and related products to protect U.S. companies from increasing competition from China in artificial intelligence and energy.Polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon), a highly purified form of silicon, serves as a critical raw material for both semiconductors and solar manufacturing.“We’re bringing the chips back into the United States in a very big way,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office following the signing of the executive order.In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched a Section 232 national security investigation into imports of polysilicon and its derivatives. The investigation aimed to determine whether the imports of these goods pose a threat to U.S. national security.The executive order will help boost the U.S. supply chain, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in the Oval Office.“We’re setting prices so that the Chinese can’t dump anymore, and we’re setting tariffs to say build it here,” Lutnick said.“We’ve got the industry here; it’s too small, and it’s going to explode under your leadership,” Lutnick told Trump.This is a developing story and will be updated.