The United States Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) announced on Thursday that it will begin soliciting public comments next week on a plan to significantly increase tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, wafers, and tungsten products. This signals that the Biden administration is targeting more Chinese products.
Last week, the Biden administration announced the final decision to impose “301 provisions” tariffs on Chinese electric cars, batteries, steel, semiconductors, and solar panels.
After reviewing public feedback on the tariff hikes, USTR stated that they will add five more product categories. This includes imposing a 50% tariff on polysilicon used for solar panels and silicon wafers used for semiconductors, as well as a 25% tariff on three tungsten processing products, including un-forged tungsten bars, tungsten plates, tungsten rods, tungsten sheets, and tungsten foils.
According to a federal notice (PDF), the collection of public opinions will begin on Monday and conclude on October 22.
USTR noted that China currently dominates the manufacturing capacity of polysilicon and silicon wafers, accounting for 93% of polysilicon production capacity and 95% of wafer production capacity.
“The advantage that China holds in wafer and polysilicon manufacturing may weaken new investments in the U.S. domestic manufacturing industry, impact the resilience of the U.S. solar panel and semiconductor supply chains, and diminish the effectiveness of solar panel and semiconductor tariffs,” USTR stated.
The USTR also mentioned in the announcement that imposing tariffs on various tungsten-related products can reduce the U.S. dependence on imports from China, establish an independent domestic supply chain, and decrease China’s opportunities to acquire American company intellectual property and technology.
Tungsten products are essential raw materials for various key industries, including aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, as well as the oil and gas industry.