Trump reveals 30% solar tariffs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The four-year tariffs will decrease 5% per year.

President Trump has announced the tariff rates to be applied on global solar imports as a result of the Section 201 trade case.

Modules and cells will face a tariff rate of 30% in the first year declining 5% in each of the three subsequent years.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The first 2.5GW of cell imports will be exempt for the four-year duration of the tariffs.

The US International Trade Commission (US ITC) had recommended three potential courses of action to the President that in aggregate equated to tariffs of around 30%. The petitioners in the case, Suniva and SolarWorld Americas, had been pressing for tariffs closer to 50%.

In a statement, the administration said it would now look to open negotiations on existing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar products and the reciprocal duties placed on US polysilicon by Beijing.

Full details are available on the US Trade Representative's fact sheet.

Details and disappointment

According to ROTH Capital, the duties would usually become active after 15 days, however, a period to allow nations to apply for an exemption plus the complexity of the arrangement could see this period extended to 90 days.

The 30% level falls short of the 50% requested by the petitioners.

Juergen Stein, CEO and president of SolarWorld Americas issued a statement that was appreciative but demonstrated the underwhelming nature of the tariffs for both sides.

“SolarWorld Americas appreciates the hard work of President Trump, the US Trade Representative, and this administration in reaching today’s decision, and the President’s recognition of the importance of solar manufacturing to America’s economic and national security,” it began. 

“We are still reviewing these remedies, and are hopeful they will be enough to address the import surge and to rebuild solar manufacturing in the United States. We will work with the US Government to implement these remedies, including future negotiations, in the strongest way possible to benefit solar manufacturing and its thousands of American workers to ensure that US solar manufacturing is world-class competitive for the long term.”

Suniva added that it was pleased to see the Canadian loophole closed. It was mooted that as a free trade partner and minor importer of solar products thus far, that Canada could have been excluded. This would have opened the door for module assembly just over the border from the US.

Shares in US thin-film manufacturer First Solar had jumped 5% at the time of writing.

See the reaction of the Industry here, while several Chinese firms have said they and their peers will be minimally affected.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 8, 2025
US solar module prices jumped in Q3 2025 as developers scrambled to meet the 2 September 2025 safe harbour deadline for Investment Tax Credit (ITC) qualification, according to supply chain platform Anza.
October 8, 2025
Despite policy headwinds on the federal level, there is optimism for the future of the US solar and storage sector.
October 7, 2025
Solar PV will account for almost 80% of the 4.6TW of new renewable power expected to be added by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
October 7, 2025
Doral Renewables has secured a PPA with an unnamed 'corporate buyer' for its 430MW Cold Creek solar-plus-storage project in Texas.
October 7, 2025
US independent power producer (IPP) Arevon has begun operations at two utility-scale solar projects in Indiana.
Premium
October 6, 2025
Talon PV aims to be the first US company to safely manufacture TOPCon cells at scale, backed by European technology and a crucial First Solar licensing deal.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK