Trump announces 50% tariff on copper effective August 1

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a 50 per cent tariff on copper to start on August 1 in a bid to promote domestic development of an industry critical to defence, electronics and automobiles.

The move marks the latest in a series of sector-specific tariffs Trump has imposed on industries such as steel and aluminium, which economists warn will increase costs for American consumers.

Trump indicated on Tuesday that he was introducing new tariffs on copper, sending US Comex copper futures to record highs.

The announcement came just hours after he also informed Brazil that its "reciprocal" tariff would rise from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on August 1, following a diplomatic spat earlier in the week with his Brazilian counterpart, who had described him as an unwelcome "emperor."

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded on Wednesday, stating that any new tariffs would be met with reciprocal measures.

The White House launched a Section 232 investigation into copper imports in February, citing legislation that allows the president to impose higher tariffs on national security grounds.

Trump said on Wednesday that he had received a "robust" national security assessment which concluded that tariffs were necessary to protect domestic production of a material critical to a wide range of industries.

“Copper is essential for semiconductors, aircraft, ships, ammunition, data centres, lithium-ion batteries, radar systems, missile defence systems and even hypersonic weapons, of which we are building many,” Trump stated in a post on his platform, Truth Social.

The US relies on imports for nearly half of its refined copper supply and imported 810,000 metric tonnes in 2024, according to the US Geological Survey.

Countries likely to be most affected by the new tariff include Chile, Canada and Mexico - the top suppliers of refined copper, copper alloys and related products to the US in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data.

Chile, Canada and Peru have informed the US administration that their exports pose no threat to American interests and should be exempt from the tariffs. All three nations have free trade agreements with the US.

The steep tariff is intended to encourage greater domestic production. More than two-thirds of US copper is mined in Arizona, where the development of a major new mine proposed by Rio Tinto Group and BHP Group Limited has been stalled for over a decade.