Trump’s chip supply chain shield could backfire in Tennessee

The Trump administration’s plan to protect America’s semiconductor supply chain has a problem. It’s destroying a piece of that supply chain in real time. Wacker Chemie, the German chemical giant, is weighing the closure of its polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee, after trade measures introduced on August 6 drove away the facility’s last two remaining customers. The plant employs roughly 600 workers, and their jobs now hang on a decision the company says it will make in the coming weeks. The tariff trap The trade measures in question fall under Section 232, the national security provision the administration has wielded repeatedly to reshape global trade flows. For polysilicon and related semiconductor inputs, the new rules impose a 15% tariff alongside price floors: $21 per kilogram for polysilicon and $100 for ingots and wafers, with the price floors set to take effect in December 2026. The intent is straightforward enough. China dominates global polysilicon production, and Washington wants to reduce that dependency by making foreign material more expensive. In theory, domestic producers should benefit as buyers look for alternatives closer to home. In practice, the opposite...