Some companies and associations in the solar industry endorsed additional tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, but others expressed concern that allied countries will be hit with overlapping Section 232 tariffs on both imports of polysilicon and solar cells, in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Republican-led House Select Committee on China said Aug. 14 that a new trade agreement the Trump administration is negotiating with China should contain or exclude certain provisions to protect U.S. economic and national security.
The Coalition for Prosperous America is proposing that a Section 232 investigation on polysilicon result in a tariff-rate quota that is limited to "in-quota trusted suppliers" such as South Korea or Germany, and that excludes Chinese products. A "$0.10 per watt tariff" should apply to over-quota imports of solar cells, with a quota volume "tied to U.S. production capacity" and overseen by the Department of Energy, it said in public comments.
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A 40% tariff on transshipped goods could apply to goods that include third-country content above 30%, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking on Fox Business Aug. 7.
President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office Aug. 6 that the U.S. will be imposing a tariff of "approximately 100%" on chips and semiconductors, "but if you're building in the United States of America, there is no charge."
Thompson Hine trade lawyer Dan Ujczo, who has expertise in North American trade and, particularly, automotive trade in the USMCA region, said the way the carve-outs to 25% Section 232 tariffs have been shaking out has surprised him -- and, he believes, has surprised countries that are automaking powerhouses.
President Donald Trump, during a call-in interview on CNBC, said that he is going to raise India's 25% reciprocal tariff level "very substantially over the next 24 hours because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fueling the war machine."
CBP recently offered guidance on how customs brokers and importers should apply 40% duties on goods imported from Brazil, following the White House's implementation of stiffer tariffs on the country (see 2507300066).
Multiple countries said they're still assessing the impact of the new U.S. tariffs that took effect Aug. 1 (see 2507310081), although some that agreed to deals, including the EU and South Korea, said they now have more stability for their industries.