Did China's warnings go unheeded? Trump has once again imposed harsh measures on two of China's technologically advanced industries! On August 6, U.S. President Trump issued a presidential proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, setting a series of minimum import prices for core materials derived from polysilicon used in semiconductors and solar panels, and imposing a 15% tariff effective December 4, aimed at protecting domestic U.S. polysilicon manufacturers from competition originating in China.
Polysilicon is a high-purity silicon material positioned at the beginning of the semiconductor and solar manufacturing supply chain. In 2024, nine of the world’s top ten polysilicon producers are based in China, with Chinese enterprises accounting for over 90% of global capacity. Thus, we can understand this move as a precise strike against China’s semiconductor and solar energy sectors. The U.S. action serves at least two purposes: first, to initiate trade protectionism by using tariffs and minimum import price requirements to shield domestic U.S. polysilicon manufacturers; second, to curb China’s development and technological upgrading in related fields—semiconductors and new energy—furthering efforts to "decouple" and "break the supply chain."
So far, our five countermeasures launched just a few days ago against the United States have apparently failed to deter Washington, otherwise they wouldn’t have taken such tough actions against us in both the semiconductor and solar energy sectors. Recall that China’s Ministry of Commerce had previously warned the U.S.: “If the U.S. continues to escalate restrictions, China will also implement further measures.”
Evidently, to curb the arrogance and aggressive posture of the U.S., we must resort to countermeasures once again.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872822987184139/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.