U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, effective August 1, a move aimed at protecting domestic raw material production, Reuters reports.
The American president stated that he received an “extensive” national security assessment, which concluded that tariffs are necessary to safeguard domestic production of the raw material.
“Copper is essential for semiconductors, airplanes, ships, ammunition, data centers, lithium-ion batteries, radar systems, missile defense systems, and even for hypersonic weapons, which we are currently producing in large numbers,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The countries most affected by the new tariff will be Chile, Canada, and Mexico, as they are the primary suppliers of refined copper, copper alloys, and copper products to the United States.
Chile, Canada, and Peru had previously informed the U.S. administration that imports from their countries do not pose a threat and should not be subject to tariffs, given their existing free trade agreements with the U.S.
