Trump's 50% tariff on copper imports to take effect Aug. 1
Citing national security concerns, the proclamation signed by Trump said the new tariff will be imposed on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products.
Such items include copper pipes, wires, rods, cables, connectors and electrical components, according to the White House.
In early July, Trump said he would impose a 50 percent tariff on copper imports, without providing many details, after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's team submitted the findings of its related probe and its recommendations to the president.
Trump had directed Lutnick in late February to investigate whether tariffs were necessary for copper, a vital material used in military hardware and clean energy products such as electric vehicles.
As part of efforts to support the U.S. copper industry, the proclamation also authorized the commerce secretary to take steps such as requiring 25 percent of high-quality scrap produced domestically to be sold in the country.
In addition to his so-called reciprocal tariffs, Trump has introduced automobile, steel and other sectoral duties on national security grounds.
In early June, the Trump administration doubled U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent, less than three months after going ahead with the first such sector-based protectionist measures.
As global demand for copper increases, the United States has seen its reliance on imports rise markedly in recent years, despite it once being a leading producer of the metal.
U.S. officials have said Trump recognizes that an overreliance on foreign copper in all its forms could result in vulnerabilities for the country's military capabilities, infrastructure development and technological innovation.
The country's use of imported copper has surged from virtually zero percent in 1991 to 45 percent of consumption in 2024, according to the White House.
On Wednesday, Trump also signed an executive order imposing a 50 percent tariff on imports from Brazil starting in a week. He had threatened such a move earlier this month.
The tariff rate for Brazil marks a significant hike from the 10 percent Trump initially set and is by far the highest among the new rates released since early July for U.S. trading partners including Indonesia, Japan and the European Union.
The order said Trump's tariff plan exempts some of Brazil's most important exports to the United States, including civil aircraft and parts, orange juice and fuel.
He said the 40 percentage-point increase was decided because "recent policies, practices, and actions" of the Brazilian government "threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States."
In the order, he accused Brazil of "unjustly" prosecuting former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, known as the Brazilian Trump, has been charged with orchestrating a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat.
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