The U.S. will install a 50% tariff on copper imports starting Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday.
Trump said he made the decision to install the copper levies after receiving a national security assessment. The president first teased the new tariffs at a cabinet meeting earlier this week where he also suggested tariffs on pharmaceuticals would be coming “very soon.”
Earlier this year, Trump ordered a Section 232 investigation into copper imports. The probe called for the Secretary of Commerce to review domestic demand and production of copper and the impact of importing the metal. It also called for an assessment of “whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security.”
Similar Section 232 investigations have served as precursors to U.S. tariffs, such as the 50% duties currently being levied on steel imports by the Trump administration.
U.S. copper import sources in 2024
Chile and Canada were the top exporters of copper to the U.S. last year, supplying more than $10 billion combined, per data from the U.S. International Trade Commission compiled by Supply Chain Dive.
“Implication: Copper tariffs will represent yet another source of cost-push inflation due to higher prices for imported metals,” said Jason Miller, interim chairperson of the department of supply chain management at Michigan State University, in a LinkedIn post Tuesday.
