Donald Trump on Tuesday opened yet another front in his assault on global trade norms, ordering a new investigation into possible tariffs on copper imports to rebuild US production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors and a wide range of consumer goods.
Trump, looking to thwart what his advisers see as a move by China to dominate the global copper market, signed an order directing commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to start a new national security investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same law that Trump used in his first term to impose 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminum.
A White House official said any potential tariff rate would be determined by the investigation, adding that Trump preferred tariffs over quotas.
The White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the investigation would be completed quickly, “in Trump time”.
Navarro claimed China was using state subsidies and economic influence to gain control over global copper production, in much the same way it now dominates steel and aluminum production.
That said, the countries set to be most affected by any new US copper tariffs would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers of refined copper and copper articles in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data.
“Like our steel and aluminum industries, our great American copper industry has been decimated by global actors attacking our domestic production,” Lutnick, the US commerce secretary, said in a statement. “To build back our copper industry, I will investigate the imposition of possible tariffs.“
Lutnick said US industries and national defense depended on copper and “it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions”.
“It’s time for copper to come home,” Lutnick added.
The White House official said the investigation would look at imports of raw mined copper, copper concentrates, copper alloy, scrap copper and derivative products made from the metal. The official declined to identify any specific derivatives, saying that would prejudge the investigation.
after newsletter promotion
The official added that the Department of Energy recognized copper as a critical material in the medium term due to increased demand for solar energy technologies and global electrification, noting that it was the second most widely used material in US weapons platforms.
The official said based on current demand for electric vehicles and power-hungry artificial intelligence applications, there will be a US copper shortage in the future, and the US cannot develop adequate copper smelting and refining capacity unless there is a reasonable certainty of long-lasting trade protection for the sector.
The move is the latest effort by Trump to build a tariff wall around the nation’s economy as part of his drive to rebuild a long-declining US manufacturing base and redraw decades of trade relationships.
Trump said on Monday that separate 25% general tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada were “on schedule” ahead of a 4 March implementation deadline despite efforts by both to avoid them by securing their US borders and halting the flow of fentanyl, the deadly opioid.
