Trump, copper and 50 tariff
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President Trump's move to impose a 50% tariff on U.S. copper imports targets a vital metal that is widely used in many products and industries. That could lead to higher prices for everything from appliances and electronics to cars and home repairs,
Copper shipments into the United States are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks in a final scramble to get metal across the border before U.S. President Donald Trump's higher than expected 50% tariff on imported copper takes effect.
President Trump's threatened 50% copper tariffs have boosted prices for the metal in the U.S. far ahead of anywhere else, lifting the premium to roughly one quarter. Copper futures mainly trad
As U.S. prices remain elevated despite larger-than-usual inventories, the gap in U.S. Comex futures over those on the LME has fluctuated between $500 and $1,500 since Trump announced a probe into copper in February. Historically, that rate has been near-zero, and was around the $150 level in 2024.
Trump said on Tuesday that he would impose a 50% tariff on copper. Though the remarks were light on specifics, his comments sent the metal to all-time highs.
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U.S. copper prices vaulted to an all-time high after President Trump said Washington will slap imports of the metal with a 50% tax.Front-month futures contracts jumped 13% Tuesday, the largest single-day price surge in records going back to 1968,
“The U.S. has been sucking in lots of copper that it didn’t really need from around the world,” Albert Mackenzie is a copper analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. President Trump had signaled that the tariffs were coming months ago, prompting many U.S. buyers to stockpile copper ahead of time.
President Trump’s proposed 50% tariff on copper imports would likely prove a boon for companies that mine copper in the U.S. So the question for investors is: Which stock should they buy to take advantage?