1 hr ago
Trump Chip Supply Push Puts Tennessee Polysilicon Plant At Risk
A company called Wacker makes a special material used in computer chips and solar panels.
Its factory in Tennessee employs about 600 people.
News reports said the factory could close because two customers stopped buying from it.
The customers reportedly reacted to new trade rules from the Trump administration.
The rules add tariffs and a price floor to certain imported products.
However, the rules treat products made with American and Chinese polysilicon the same way.
American polysilicon can cost much more than foreign material, making it harder to sell.
Wacker later said it has no plans to close the Tennessee factory.
The company may still discuss the future of its three factories at a meeting in September.
Wacker Chemie may decide within weeks whether to close its Charleston, Tennessee, facility, which employs about 600 people.
Sources said the plant’s two remaining customers left after new U.S. trade measures were announced.
Wacker later said it had no plans to close the Charleston facility, despite earlier reports of possible closure.
The measures impose a price floor and tariffs on imported polysilicon products but do not distinguish their material’s country of origin.
Industry groups support stronger incentives for U.S. polysilicon, while analysts say the current policy may not increase demand for it.
- Who
- Wacker Chemie, the Trump administration, two unnamed customers, U.S. polysilicon producers and industry analysts are involved.
- What
- New U.S. trade measures intended to protect the domestic polysilicon and semiconductor supply chain may have contributed to uncertainty over Wacker’s Tennessee factory.
- Where
- Charleston, Tennessee, and Wacker’s facilities in the United States and Germany are central to the report.
- When
- The report was published September 4; the measures were announced August 6 and are scheduled to take effect in December. Wacker may provide more information at an investor meeting on September 17.
- Why
- The policy aims to encourage domestic polysilicon production and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, but its current structure may not create enough demand for U.S.-made material.
Domestic-industry advocates
Industry critics and analysts
Whether the policy will protect U.S. polysilicon
Domestic-industry advocates
The Coalition for a Prosperous America says the rules should reward purchases of U.S.-made polysilicon to preserve the domestic solar and semiconductor supply chains and counter China.
Industry critics and analysts
Wood Mackenzie analyst Elissa Pierce and other critics say the measures, as currently structured, are unlikely to increase demand for U.S. polysilicon because they treat foreign products similarly regardless of where their material originated.
How the government should support producers
Domestic-industry advocates
Supporters favor tariffs and industrial policies, along with clear incentives that make domestic polysilicon the foundation of U.S. supply chains.
Industry critics and analysts
The current approach leaves incentives to company-specific negotiations, and the reported uncertainty has raised concerns that it could harm a factory the policy intended to protect.
The Charleston plant’s future
Domestic-industry advocates
Sources familiar with the matter said Wacker’s Tennessee facility faced a possible closure after losing its two remaining customers.
Industry critics and analysts
Wacker said after publication that it had no plans to close the Charleston facility; an analyst said Wacker might instead close one of its three plants, not necessarily the Tennessee site.
Key facts
- Company
- Wacker Chemie produces polysilicon for chips and solar panels.
- Tennessee facility
- The Charleston plant employs about 600 workers.
- Potential decision
- Sources said Wacker could decide in the coming weeks whether to close the facility.
- Company response
- After publication, Wacker said it had no plans to close the Charleston facility.
- Trade measures
- The measures include a price floor and tariffs on inbound polysilicon ingots, wafers, cells and solar panels.
- Implementation
- The trade measures are scheduled to take effect in December.
- Price disparity
- Bernreuter Research said U.S. polysilicon can cost four times more than competing material.
Quotes
Nick Iacovella
Spokesperson for the Coalition for a Prosperous America
“Without a clear signal that domestic polysilicon will be the foundation of both the solar and semiconductor supply chains, we risk ceding both to foreign competitors and adversarial nations like China. That is a direct national security threat.”
livemint.com
“We don't expect the Section 232 tariffs, as currently structured, to boost demand for U.S. polysilicon”
livemint.com
Wacker Chemie
German chemicals company operating the Charleston, Tennessee, polysilicon facility
“does not, as it reads now, effectively support the use of U.S. made polysilicon.”
livemint.com
Sources
Related news
US Announces 15% Tariff on Polysilicon to Counter China
Trump orders 15% tariffs on imported polysilicon, solar panels
Trump Administration Weighs Broad New Tariffs on Semiconductors
Trump administration weighs chip tariffs amid AI industry warnings
