The United States is moving to impose a 15% tariff and price floors on polysilicon and its derivatives, a step meant to push solar manufacturers toward domestic raw materials. The proposal follows a Section 232 national security investigation launched in July 2025 under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, covering imports of polysilicon and its products.\n\nChinese commentators call the shift a “pig‑butchering scam,” saying the Biden administration used tax credits to lure Chinese firms into US factories, only for the Trump administration to slash those credits and seize their investment. Since last year, Trina Solar, Jinko Solar and Boviet Solar have been winding down newly built US plants, with some put up for sale within a week of starting production.\n\nThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, sets rising domestic‑content thresholds—50% in 2026, 60% in 2027, 70% in 2028 and 80% in 2029 for modules, with similar schedules for inverters.

It also bars tax credits for any US entity classified as a prohibited foreign entity, defined as one with 25% or more Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean or sanctioned ownership, and could raise costs for American manufacturers while limiting impact on Chinese exporters.