President Trump signed an government order Tuesday directing his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, to start an investigation into whether or not overseas manufacturing of copper and imports of the fabric into the US pose dangers to America’s financial and nationwide safety.
White Home officers mentioned that, relying on the outcomes of the investigation, new tariffs could possibly be utilized on copper, a cloth that’s extensively utilized in manufacturing and development and is essential to the U.S. army and rising applied sciences like synthetic intelligence.
White Home officers have been scant on particulars throughout a name with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, together with when the investigation would possibly conclude, what price tariffs is likely to be set at or after they would go into impact. It could all be found out in “Trump time,” one official mentioned repeatedly, which apparently meant rapidly.
The potential tariffs would assist to guard the home copper business that the White Home says has been undermined by unfair commerce practices by different international locations and is struggling to compete. Copper is, amongst different issues, an integral part within the constructing of ships, aircrafts and tanks. The Trump administration framed it on Tuesday as a problem of nationwide protection as a lot as an financial one, saying that the metals could be wanted for electrical automobiles and A.I. and that geopolitical turmoil might sever the US from wanted provides.
“Tariffs might help construct again our American copper business, if needed, and strengthen our nationwide protection,” Mr. Lutnick mentioned. “American industries depend upon copper, and it ought to be made in America — no exemptions, no exceptions.”
“It’s time for copper to come back house,” he added.
Just like the tariffs on metal and aluminum that President Trump is promising to reinstate subsequent month, copper tariffs will increase prices for quite a lot of different industries that depend upon the steel and will generate pushback from them. That features makers of cars, electronics and telecommunications gear, in addition to development firms, which use copper for plumbing, roof development and different makes use of.
The tariffs might additionally spur new fights with international locations that ship steel to the US. America’s largest overseas supply of copper is Chile, which sends $4.63 billion of the steel to the US annually, adopted extra distantly by Canada, Peru, Mexico and the Democratic Republic of Congo. China can also be a serious international producer of copper however sends comparatively little to the US due to beforehand imposed tariffs.
White Home officers say that Chinese language copper manufacturing has nonetheless pushed down international costs and that China had been snapping up copper assets globally.
Peter Navarro, a senior counselor for commerce and manufacturing, mentioned within the name with reporters Tuesday that China had “lengthy used industrial overcapacity and dumping as an financial weapon to dominate international markets” and systematically undercut rivals from different international locations.
“It’s now utilizing that very same mannequin to achieve management of the world’s copper markets,” he mentioned.
Requested how the president had chosen to take up the problem of copper, one of many Trump administration officers on the decision mentioned that Mr. Trump foresees points that others would possibly miss. The official made a reference to an interview from the 1980s, through which Mr. Trump talked with Oprah Winfrey about commerce with Japan. The official mentioned that change presaged how the president would take into consideration retaliation towards overseas governments that have been “dishonest” the US.
Mr. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on quite a lot of imports, together with metal, aluminum, copper, cars and prescription drugs. He additionally got here inside hours earlier this month of imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, saying the international locations weren’t doing sufficient to cease the move of medicine and migrants into the US. He paused these tariffs for a month, however mentioned this week they’d go into impact March 4 as deliberate.
Mr. Trump additionally imposed a further 10 p.c tariff on all merchandise from China, which sparked retaliatory tariffs from the Chinese language. And he has launched a plan to dramatically reform U.S. tariff charges on different international locations, by altering them to reciprocate the tariff ranges that different international locations cost the US, in addition to capturing sure commerce behaviors he deems unfair.
The copper investigation will likely be carried out beneath Part 232 of the Commerce Growth Act, which permits the president to impose tariffs on overseas merchandise within the curiosity of nationwide safety. By regulation, the commerce secretary has 270 days to current findings from the investigation to the president.
Copper costs have climbed this 12 months, forward of anticipated tariffs and continued resilience in manufacturing exercise, in line with a word earlier this month from analysts at Citi. The USA consumed about $17 billion of copper in 2024, and imported about 45 p.c of that quantity, the analysts mentioned.
Rebecca F. Elliott contributed reporting.
