Trump unveils trade actions to compete with China on solar and chips

President Donald Trump's proclamation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 is aimed at supporting domestic chip and solar supply chains needed to compete with Beijing on artificial intelligence and energy.

Domestic semiconductor manufacturing depends on solar because the solar industry's larger demand for polysilicon helps support production of the material required for ‌chips.

Polysilicon, an ultra-pure ​form of silicon, sits at the start of the semiconductor and solar manufacturing supply chains.