Donald Trump announced Wednesday the U.S. will place a 50 per cent tariff on copper effective Aug. 1.
The U.S. president, who made the announcement on Truth Social, says the decision was made after receiving a national security assessment.
“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,” Trump wrote in a post. “Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense!”
The news comes just one day after Trump said he would impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, but hadn’t revealed a date as to when they would take effect.
“Today we are doing copper,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting. “I believe the tariff on copper, we are going to make it 50 per cent.”
Last February, Trump directed an investigation into copper imports under section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act, which gave him the power to place tariffs on imports of the metal.
According to Natural Resources Canada, the U.S. was the country’s largest copper importer in 2023, accounting for 52 per cent of the total export value, followed by China and Japan. That same year, Canada’s exports of copper and copper-based products were valued at $9.3 billion.
Chile, Canada and Peru accounted for more than 90 per cent of the United States’ refined copper imports last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It’s estimated Canada has less than one per cent of global copper reserves and it ranked No. 12 in the world’s 2023 copper production, behind other major producers like Chile, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China and U.S.
With files from The Canadian Press
