The US Trade Representative’s Office will announce a doubling to 50 per cent of the tariff on Chinese solar wafers and polysilicon on Wednesday, and hit tungsten products with a 25 per cent levy, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

This move is part of Washington’s broader strategy to counter China’s dominance in key industrial and technological sectors, and could make trade tensions between the US and China worse and could affect global markets that need these materials.

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Solar wafers and polysilicon are key parts of solar panels, while tungsten is important for manufacturing planes, defence equipment, and electronics.

The higher tariffs are part of US’ efforts to depend less on products from China and to boost manufacturing in their country.

This move also aims to protect supply chains and fix trade problems.