#TrumpTariffs

During his second presidency, United States president Donald Trump enacted a series of steep protective tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the United States. From January to April 2025, the average applied US tariff rate rose from 2.5% to an estimated 27%, the highest level in over a century.

Copper entering the US from other countries is set to face a new tax of 50%, President Donald Trump has said.

The decision carries through on tariff threats the president made earlier this year, when he ordered an investigation into how imports of the metal were affecting national security.

Similar probes are looming over other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber, as part of a wider embrace of tariffs that Trump claims will protect and boost American industry.

Copper prices in the US jumped to a record high after the announcement of the new import tax, which Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said are expected to come into effect around the end of this month.