US will hike tariffs on copper to 50%, Trump says

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.

Lutnick said he expected Trump to sign documents in the coming days to formalise the decision, which the president revealed in an offhand remark at a televised meeting of his cabinet.

“Today we’re doing copper,” Trump said. “We’re going to make it 50%.”