Trump announces unprecedented tariff on key metal

Copper imports will be subject to a 50% levy as of August 1, as the US president seeks to revive domestic production

US President Donald Trump has announced the imposition of a 50% tariff on copper imports starting August 1, aiming to revive domestic production.

The move is the latest in a series of targeted tariffs levied on key sectors, including steel and aluminum. It forms part of Trump’s broader global tariff campaign, which seeks to curb trade deficits, enhance national security, and promote American manufacturing through reciprocal trade measures.

”Copper is necessary for semiconductors, aircraft, ships, ammunition, data centers, lithium-ion batteries, radar systems, missile defense systems, and even hypersonic weapons, of which we are building many. Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense!” the president wrote on social media on Wednesday.

Trump has accused the Biden administration of “decimating” America’s copper industry, which he now aims to rebuild and make “dominant” again. The previous US government canceled or suspended several significant mining projects over environmental and Indigenous land concerns.

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Trump added that a “robust” national security review concluded that tariffs were necessary to secure supply chains.

The countries most affected are expected to be Chile, Canada, and Mexico, which were America’s top suppliers of refined copper and copper products in 2024, according to Census Bureau data.

Although the US holds the seventh-largest copper reserves globally, it lacks sufficient refining infrastructure and depends on imports for nearly half of its refined copper needs. A 2024 S&P Global report warned that it takes nearly 29 years on average to develop a new copper mine in the US, longer than in any other country in the world, save for Zambia.

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While copper has historically been subject to trade measures, the new 50% tariff is unprecedented in scale. Critics warn it could backfire and drive up costs for US manufacturers without meaningfully increasing output in the near future. “The reality of the US copper market is that it will be extremely difficult to get a meaningful boost to copper mining and processing in both the short and long terms,” Reuters commodities columnist Clyde Russell wrote.