Solar cells were not exempted from import tariffs in recent Executive Order

Tariffs are back in the news, yet they are not exactly a new topic for the solar industry.

Late last week, the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government released an executive order exempting a subset of electronic items from reciprocal import tariffs currently in place against China.

While several major media outlets are reporting that solar cells are included and exempted, neither of these codes were included in the executive order’s list.

The executive order listed several Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) codes, some of which are shown below, that are now exempt from the additional duties:

• 85411000
• 85412100
• 85412900
• 85413000
• 85414910
• 85414970
• 85414980
• 85414995
• 85415100
• 85415900
• 85419000

These HTSUS codes are tracked in the HTSUS database, which is published by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). Most of the exempted hardware items are categorized under Chapter 85, which broadly covers “Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof.”

The confusion likely begins with the fact that most of these items are classified under subsection 41 within Chapter 85, which is described as:

Semiconductor devices (for example, diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers); photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED), whether or not assembled with other light-emitting diodes (LED); mounted piezo-electric crystals;

The subsection description clearly states that photovoltaic cells, whether in solar panels or not, are included in this section. However, the codes within that subsection that specifically refer to solar cells are 8541.42.00 (solar cells, assembled into modules or panels) and 8541.43.00 (solar cells, not assembled into modules or panels).

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