US introduces polysilicon import limits ahead of Section 232 tariffs coming into force in December

These averages will be calculated based on a number of historical data points, including the average volume of polysilicon imported since 6 August, the average imported between 1 January and 6 August and the average imported in 2025.

For new IORs, which registered with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on or after 6 August, the import limits are set by the DoC, as these companies lack the historic data from which an ‘average’ import volume can be calculated. These companies will be restricted to importing no more than 12kg of polysilicon, no more than 7kg of doped polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon wafers, no more than 2,000 solar PV cells not assembled into modules and no more than 55 cells assembled into modules.

When the new tariffs were announced in August, US President Donald Trump added that the secretary of commerce would be able to “take action in coordination with CBP” to restrict the imports of companies found to have stockpiled polysilicon. This week’s new rules thus provide more clarity on the measures that the secretary can take.

The new rules were applauded by US manufacturers, represented by the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition.

“The SEMA Coalition applauds Commerce and CBP’s efforts to deter the stockpiling of solar products ahead of the December effective date for its Section 232 action on polysilicon,” said the trade body in a statement. “There has been evidence of stockpiling since the proclamation was issued.

“Today’s action signals that Commerce intends to strictly police these practices by evaluating imports against historical levels over the past year and preventing ‘fly-by-night importers’ from establishing operations solely to stockpile products.”

New rules to bridge the gap to Section 232 tariffs coming into force

The dates for these rules are significant. The 6 August date was the point at which the government first announced new 15% tariffs on imports of polysilicon under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Moustafa Ramadan, head of market research at PV Tech Research, told PV Tech that the new rules will be “one of the biggest events in the US solar landscape” as the new rules would either force US buyers to pay more for polysilicon, or look for domestic sources of polysilicon, putting pressure on an upstream part of the supply chain that has nowhere near the scale of downstream components such as module production.

These supply chain pressures have translated into higher costs for US buyers, with figures from Anza showing that, since the announcement of the tariffs in August, the average price of a module imported to the US has increased by more than 40%.

The 4 December date is the point at which the new 15% tariffs will come into force, and the new import rules, announced this week, are an effort to prevent US buyers from stockpiling polysilicon in the next three months, to take advantage of lower polysilicon prices before they are raised following the imposition of tariffs.

PV Tech Research’s analyst, Joe Hennessy, told PV Tech today that a similar stockpiling process took place prior to the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD), and the new rules represent the DoC’s efforts to stop a similar practice from taking place in the coming months.

“Generally, as AD/CVD investigations were ongoing, developers would purchase a lot of modules and module manufacturers would purchase cells before the deadline hit to continue to manufacture or deploy using the products from the countries about to be tariffed heavily,” said Hennessy. “These measures will aim to stop this practice.

“An anti-stockpiling clause was mentioned in the Section 232 proclamation, but it being this clear on the numbers gives a lot more clarity,” he added.

Despite these price pressures on US buyers, others in the industry have suggested that the new rules could be to the benefit of the sector in the long-term. Philip Shen, managing director at investment bank Roth Capital Partners, wrote that this “stringent anti-stockpiling enforcement could effectively reduce stockpiling,” and help delay a reset in average selling prices in US modules that the bank had earlier predicted.

“We believe this temporary final rule (TFR) could effectively address a key vulnerability in the Section 232 proclamation: module vendors accumulating inventory during the interim period to avoid the minimum import price (MIP) and tariff regime effective 4 December,” Shen wrote. “The action aligns with our view that Commerce would enforce the poly 232 stringently and prevent importers from gaming the system.”

The DoC also said that it may adjust these import limits in the future, in order to effectively “address stockpiling” in the industry.

The resilience of the US solar supply chain will be under discussion at our annual PV CellTech conference on 13-14 October in San Francisco. For details and booking, click here.