USTR Extends China Section 301 Tariff Exemptions for 12 Months, Including 14 Solar Manufacturing Items

by in Policies

PVTIME – On 26 November, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a 12-month extension to the tariff exemptions on certain Chinese products. Initially introduced under Section 301 amid investigations into forced technology transfer and intellectual property issues, these exemptions were due to expire on 29 November this year. They will now remain in place until 10 November 2026.

The extended exemptions cover 178 tariff lines across a range of categories. Of these, a total of 164 products fall under HTSUS 9903.88.69, as defined by US Notes 20(vvv)(i), 20(vvv)(ii), 20(vvv)(iii) and 20(vvv)(iv). These include children’s products, mechanical components, electronic parts, and medical supplies. The remaining 14 items are classified under HTSUS 9903.88.70 (defined by US Note 20(www)) and relate to solar and silicon wafer manufacturing equipment:

  1. Silicon growth furnaces (including Czochralski crystal growth furnaces) designed to produce monocrystalline silicon ingots (crystal rods) weighing over 700 kg for solar wafer manufacturing (classified under HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  2. Band saws for cutting cylindrical monocrystalline silicon ingots (crystal rods) of initial weight over 400 kg into square or rectangular ingots (crystal rods) for solar wafer manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  3. Machines to align and bond square or rectangular monocrystalline silicon ingots (crystal rods) (initial weight over 200 kg) to plastic support plates via metal mounting plates, supporting diamond wire saw cutting for solar wafer manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  4. Diamond wire saws for cutting square or rectangular monocrystalline silicon ingots (crystal rods) (initial weight over 400 kg) into solar wafers no thicker than 200 microns (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  5. Wire guide pulley machines supplied with the diamond wire saws specified in item 4, all for solar wafer manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  6. Coolant recovery machines supplied with the diamond wire saws specified in item 4, all for solar wafer manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  7. Adhesive removal machines for stripping binders from solar wafers (HTSUS 8486.10.0000).
  8. Texturing, etching, polishing and cleaning machines for preparing, repairing, cleaning, etching, polishing or texturing solar wafer substrates (these may be integrated with automated equipment to transfer wafers between process stations) for solar wafer manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.20.0000).
  9. Thermal diffusion quartz tube furnaces for diffusing dopant impurities into square or rectangular silicon wafers (these may be integrated with automated transfer equipment or boat loading/unloading machines) for solar cell manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.20.0000).
  10. Plasma-enhanced or low-pressure chemical vapor deposition machines for depositing amorphous or nanocrystalline layers on one or both surfaces of solar wafers (these may be integrated with automated transfer equipment) for solar cell manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.20.0000).
  11. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) machines for depositing transparent conductive oxide films on one or both surfaces of solar wafers (these may be integrated with automated transfer equipment) for solar cell manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.20.0000).
  12. Screen printing production line machines (including sintering furnaces for printing conductive contacts on both surfaces of solar wafers) for solar cell manufacturing; these may be integrated with automated transfer equipment between process stations or solar cell testing devices (HTSUS 8486.20.0000).
  13. Machines for transporting polysilicon materials to growth furnaces, and for handling monocrystalline silicon ingots (crystal rods) and wafers throughout solar wafer manufacturing (including loading/unloading machines for diamond wire saw cutting) (HTSUS 8486.40.0030).
  14. Machines for lifting, handling, loading or unloading solar wafers (no thicker than 200 microns) during manufacturing (HTSUS 8486.40.0030).

Scan the QR code to follow PVTIME official account on Wechat for latest news on PV+ES

Share
Share