President Trump says he will impose a 50% tax on imported copper, prices skyrocket to record levels

(Dan Tri) - Immediately after President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 50% tax on imported copper, copper prices skyrocketed to a record high.

On July 8, US President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 50% tariff on imported copper and in the future impose higher tariffs on certain industries.

"Today we're going to impose a tariff on copper," Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting. "I believe on the copper tariff, we're going to impose a 50 percent tariff." Trump did not specify when the new tariffs would take effect.

In an interview with CNBC on the same day, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the new tariffs on imported copper could be applied in late July or August 1.

Copper prices surged to a record high after Trump's abrupt announcement and ended the session up 13.12%, marking its best gain since 1989.

Meanwhile, shares of copper miner Freeport-McMoran rose 5% as investors expected domestic copper producers to benefit from the new tariffs.

Copper is the third most consumed metal in the world , after iron and aluminum. The United States currently imports nearly half of its copper, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The countries most affected by the copper tariffs are Chile, Canada and Mexico.

President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters).

In late February, Mr. Trump ordered an investigation to study imposing tariffs on imported copper on national security grounds.

On a CNBC program late on July 8, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the investigation was over. “Our idea is to bring copper back home, bring copper production back home,” Mr. Lutnick said.

The secretary noted that Mr. Trump’s move would put the tariffs on copper imports on par with those on aluminum and steel. In early June, Mr. Trump raised tariffs on both aluminum and steel to 50%.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said a 50% tariff would hit US companies using copper hard, as the country is years away from being able to meet its own domestic demand.

"The US has imported a year's worth of copper in just the past six months, so domestic reserves are quite ample. I think copper prices will correct lower after the initial spike," Hansen predicted.

Also at the cabinet meeting, President Trump announced that he would soon announce "very, very high, about 200%" tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical companies will have a year and a half to start manufacturing in the US, before the new tariffs are applied.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/tong-thong-trump-noi-sap-ap-thue-50-dong-nhap-khau-gia-vot-len-muc-ky-luc-20250709120457575.htm