Section 301: solar tool exclusions run to Jan 9

What USTR published

In a notice published on November 10, 2026 (FR Doc. 2026-22925, 91 FR 72610), the U.S. Trade Representative announced a "determination to further extend all 178 current exclusions" from the Section 301 duties on products of China. The exclusions had been set to run through November 9, 2026. They now run "through 11:59 p.m. eastern time on January 9, 2027," for goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on November 10, 2026.

The notice gives the reason as "ongoing discussions with China." It adds that USTR "may continue to consider further extensions or additional modifications as appropriate," and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection "will issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation."

The solar part: wafer and cell tools, not module lines

Fourteen of the 178 exclusions are solar manufacturing equipment, entered under HTSUS heading 9903.88.70. They come from USTR's four-year review notice of September 18, 2024 (89 FR 76581). In that review USTR proposed 19 solar equipment exclusions: five for module equipment, six for cell equipment and eight for wafer equipment. It adopted the 14 for wafer and cell equipment. It turned down the five for module equipment, finding "sufficient availability of the products covered by the exclusions outside of China."

The 14 machines are listed in U.S. note 20(www) to Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (2026 edition, Revision 23, checked on November 10, 2026). They include:

• Wafer equipment: silicon growth furnaces for monocrystalline ingots over 700 kg, band saws and diamond wire saws for slicing ingots into wafers no thicker than 200 micrometers, and wafer handling and texturing machines.
• Cell equipment: thermal diffusion furnaces, plasma-enhanced or low-pressure chemical vapor deposition machines, physical vapor deposition machines, and screen printing lines with sintering furnaces.

Revision 23 already shows heading 9903.88.70 running "through January 9, 2027."

What has not changed for modules

The same 2024 review raised the Section 301 rate on Chinese solar cells "whether or not assembled into modules" to 50%. In the current tariff schedule, heading 9903.91.02 applies to products of China under subheadings 8541.42.00 (cells) and 8541.43.00 (modules), for entries on or after September 27, 2024. The rate column reads "The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 50%."

U.S. note 31 to Chapter 99 adds that these goods "shall continue to be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other duties." The 50% layer comes in addition to AD/CVD orders, not in place of them. Today's notice does not mention that heading, so for China-origin modules nothing changes.

What it means if you are buying modules

• The extension matters through your supply chain, not at your dock. It keeps Section 301 duties off certain imported wafer and cell tools for another two months. That is a cost input for U.S. cell and wafer plants, the plants whose output goes into domestically made modules.
• The runway is short. January 9, 2027 is only 60 days after the effective date (our count). USTR's own wording leaves both a further extension and a change open. When you discuss U.S.-made supply for 2027, ask whether the maker's cell or wafer expansion depends on equipment entered under these exclusions.
• Origin still sets the duty stack. The tariff code tells you which layers to check, as our HTS 8541.43 note explains. For modules, the relevant layers now include the Solar IV AD/CVD orders, the Section 232 price floor from December 4 and, for China origin, the 50% Section 301 duty.
• Stock already landed is not affected. The Section 301 treatment of modules already in U.S. warehouses was fixed by the rules in force on their entry date. Today's notice does not reach back to it.

Next date to watch

January 9, 2027, when the 178 exclusions expire unless USTR acts again. We will update this note if USTR publishes a further extension or changes the list.