# Section 201 solar tariffs lapse as a Section 232 polysilicon probe looms > An eight-year safeguard on imported panels expired in February; a national-security polysilicon case could reshape US solar supply chains again **Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-24 · heads: أموال من, التحوّل الصامت · 8 takes · 3 lenses · 2 regions ## Summary The US [Section 201](/ar/entity/united-states) safeguard on crystalline-silicon [Solar](/ar/entity/solar) modules expired on 6 February 2026 after eight years, ending at a 14% terminal rate. But the trade wall around [Renewables](/ar/entity/renewables) is being rebuilt elsewhere: Section 301 duties on [Chinese](/ar/entity/china)-origin cells, modules, polysilicon and wafers remain, 50%+ on some products, and a Section 232 national-security investigation into polysilicon, opened July 2025, could hit every product containing it, including wafers and cells. Reciprocal 2025 tariffs also bite Southeast Asian routes (Vietnam 46%, Cambodia 49%, Thailand 36%, Malaysia 24%). The net effect reshuffles import economics even as US demand and [storage](/ar/n/china-battery-storage-surge-2026) grow. ## By the numbers - 6 Feb 2026, Section 201 expiry, at a 14% final rate (8 years total). - 50%+, Section 301 duties on some Chinese solar products. - July 2025, Section 232 polysilicon probe opened. - 46% / 49% / 36% / 24%, reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand/Malaysia. ## Why it matters Tariff layers decide whether US solar deployment runs on imports or a still-nascent domestic manufacturing base. A broad polysilicon 232 action would touch nearly every panel sold and could either spur factories or raise project costs into a high-demand, transmission-constrained market. ## What to watch - The Section 232 polysilicon determination and its scope. - Whether 201's lapse lowers landed module prices in practice. - Domestic cell/wafer capacity response to the tariff mix. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### unlabelled - **US Trade Representative** (United States, en) — USTR's Section 201 safeguard record on crystalline-silicon PV cells and modules, the measure that expired 6 February 2026. Source: https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-201-investigations/investigation-no-ta-201-75-cspv-cells - **US Department of Energy** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/overview-trade-and-policy-measures-us-solar-manufacturing - **Aurora Solar** (United States, en) — Source: https://aurorasolar.com/home-solar/blog/solar-101/solar-tariffs - **SurgePV** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.surgepv.com/solar-compliance/global/import-duty-rates - **Top Solar Services** (United States, en) — Source: https://topsolarservices.com/blog/solar-tariff-changes-2026-commercial-buyers - **Peacock Tariff Consulting** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.peacocktariffconsulting.com/solar-panel-imports/ ### solar-industry trade - **Solar Power World** (United States, en) — Reports the lapse of the eight-year Section 201 safeguard on 6 February 2026 at a 14% terminal rate, and what remains: Section 301 China duties and pending 232 action. > "End of an era: Section 201 tariffs on imported solar panels expire." Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/02/end-of-an-era-sec-201-tariffs-on-imported-solar-panels-expire/ ### PV manufacturing - **PV Tech** (United Kingdom, en) — Tracks the Section 232 national-security polysilicon investigation (opened July 2025), whose tariffs would hit wafers, cells and panels containing polysilicon, a far broader reach than 201. > "Section 232 polysilicon tariffs could be clarified by 'end of the month'." Source: https://www.pv-tech.org/section-232-polysilicon-tariffs-could-be-clarified-by-end-of-the-month/ ## Across the graph - Related: [[china-battery-storage-surge-2026]], [[renewables-curtailment-record-2026]], [[trump-metals-tariff-revamp]], [[trump-forced-labor-301-tariffs]] - Entities: Renewables, United States, China, Solar --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ar/n/solar-tariff-shift-2026