Unearthing US Vulnerabilities: President Trump Outlines Steps to Strengthen the US Copper Industry

Overview

The Trump Administration has made it clear that it intends to increase the United States’s production of critical minerals, with a focus on copper, through its implementation of the “Unleashing American Energy” Executive Order in January and the “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production” Executive Order in March. The Trump Administration’s Executive Order 14220 issued February 25, 2025, “Addressing the Threat to National Security from Imports of Copper” (the “EO”), ordered an investigation into the national security impact of copper imports. On July 30, the Trump Administration issued a Fact Sheet and Proclamation (the “Proclamation”) addressing the findings of this investigation and imposed tariffs on copper as detailed below.

Policy

The Trump Administration stated that the motivation behind the EO is to address the dependence of the United States on imports which creates a vulnerability within supply chains, adding potential risks to national security, defense application, infrastructure, and emerging technologies. Copper is essential to economic security because it underpins key industries and supports technological innovation and critical infrastructure as essential building blocks to the US manufacturing base in sectors such as defense, energy, transportation and telecommunications. Further, the Trump Administration holds it is important to US economic stability and supply chains for the United States to have ready access to a “reliable, secure, and resilient” domestic supply of copper.

In furtherance of this goal, the EO orders the Secretary of Commerce (the “Secretary”) to initiate an investigation under Section 232 to determine the effects of imports of copper and its derivative products on national security. In conducting this investigation, the Secretary assessed foreign competition and the welfare of domestic industries, to identify US imports of copper in all forms (raw mined copper, copper concentrates, refined copper, copper alloys, scrap copper, and derivative products) and foreign sources of copper imports, and analyzed the risks associated with the sources of these imports such as, whether predatory pricing or market manipulation strategies used by foreign countries have been used, and the potential for export restrictions by foreign nations. The Secretary also analyzed the global and domestic demand for copper by manufacturers of derivative products and conducted a risk assessment of global supply chains for copper and its derivative products. Among other things, the investigation included an analysis of the United States to (i) the feasibility of increasing domestic copper mining, smelting, and refining capacity to reduce reliance on copper imports, and (ii) the dollar value of the current level of imports of all copper and its derivative products by total value and country of export.

This investigation laid the groundwork for the imposition of new tariffs announced July 30 by the Trump Administration on copper and copper-intensive derivative products. The potential for this investigation to result in the imposition of tariffs was high as Section 232 is the same law that President Donald Trump used during his first term to impose increased tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Investigation Results and Key Points

• The investigation found that copper is a necessary input in US defense systems (such as aircrafts, ground vehicles, ships, submarines, missiles, and ammunition)¹ and plays a central role in the broader US industrial base. Furthermore, 50% of the world’s copper smelting capacity is in China. This led the Trump Administration to conclude that the United States currently has a trade deficit in, and an unsustainable dependence on, many foreign copper products.
• The Proclamation imposes universal 50% tariffs on more than 70 categories of imports of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products (e.g., wires, pipes, cables, connectors, etc.), effective August 1, 2025.
• The tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products applies to the copper content of the product. The non-copper content of the imported product will be subject to the country-specific reciprocal tariff imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14257 (Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff To Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits).
• The copper 232 tariffs do not stack with auto 232 tariffs. For example, if auto 232 tariffs apply then the copper 232 tariffs will not.
• Copper inputs (such as copper ores, concentrates, cathodes, and anodes) are not subject to these Section 232 or reciprocal tariffs.
• The President is authorizing the Secretary of Commerce under the Defense Production Act, to support the domestic copper industry through requiring, to commence in 2027 (1) 25% of high-quality copper scrap produced in the United States to be sold in the United States, and (2) 25% of copper input (such as copper ores, concentrates, cathodes, and anodes) materials produced in the United States to be sold in the United States. These requirements will increase incrementally to 40% in 2029.²

Conclusion

By implementing these tariffs, the Trump Administration hopes to “level the playing field for US copper businesses to support a strong domestic copper industry.” This action follows a series of Trump Administration measures to reduce trade imbalances, increase tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Chinese imports, eliminate exemptions, and promote US industrial and mining sectors.

¹ “[Copper] is the Department of Defense’s second-most used material.” Fact Sheet and Proclamation issued by the White House

² The Commerce Department is authorized to take further actions under the Defense Production Act to support U.S. copper refiners and fabricators, including a domestic quota for copper input materials and an inclusion process for expanding tariff coverage. Fact Sheet and Proclamation issued by the White House