Trump says he will impose 50% tariff on copper

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 1:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump said helium volition denote a 50 per cent taxation connected imported copper connected Tuesday — adding to the increasing database of punishing tariffs that are causing economical dislocation successful Canada and astir the world.

Trump said the tariffs are coming during a furniture gathering astatine the White House.

"Today, we're doing copper," helium said, aft listing a fig of different tariffs the U.S. has instituted. "I judge the tariff connected copper, we're going to marque it 50 per cent."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Mark Carney said the authorities won't beryllium commenting until Trump signs an enforcement bid and much details are available.

WATCH | Trump placing tariffs connected copper:

The Trump medication announced a Section 232 probe implicit the import of the metallic successful February.

Trump has already imposed Section 232 tariffs connected steel, aluminum and autos, which person been peculiarly damaging to the Canadian economy, starring to occupation losses and a driblet successful exports.

Those tariffs instrumentality their sanction from the conception of a U.S. commercialized instrumentality that allows the president to enforce levies connected definite goods that are said to endanger "national security."

Trump relied connected that conception to enforce tariffs connected metals successful his archetypal term, which were lone lifted connected Canadian products aft the past Liberal authorities brokered the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Canada is simply a large exporter of copper to the U.S. — American data suggest it's the second-largest overseas supplier aft Chile — and a 50 per cent tariff volition marque it much costly for U.S. importers to bring in the metal.

According to national data, Canada exported immoderate $9.3 cardinal worthy of copper and copper-based products successful 2023 with a bulk of that — 52 per cent — going to the U.S. China and Japan followed, with 17 and 12 per cent of Canadian exports respectively.

Most of Canada's copper exports travel from B.C. but Teck Resources, the Vancouver-based metals elephantine that owns a large excavation successful the province, said it should beryllium capable to debar Trump's threatened tariffs.

"Teck does not presently merchantability copper ore oregon finished copper into the U.S. and would truthful beryllium unaffected," a spokesperson for the institution said.

According to a B.C. government fact expanse released earlier this year, nary of the copper produced successful the state goes to the U.S., with a absorption alternatively connected Asia.

But these tariffs could pb to immoderate perchance "very concerning" developments for copper operations successful Quebec, said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

Mining institution Glencore owns the decades-old Horne Smelter and the Canadian Copper Refinery successful that province, businesses that employment hundreds of radical and process tens of thousands of tonnes of the metallic each year.

Given however integrated the North American manufacture is, Gratton says the tariffs "may inadvertently assistance Chinese refiners" who nutrient copper astatine a little cost.

"This volition wounded copper producers who merchantability ore to Canada, and to manufacturers who acquisition Canadian refined copper products," helium said.

Gratton said the manufacture volition beryllium monitoring the contented closely, to larn if exceptions for Canada are being discussed.

Trump and Carney are locked successful negotiations to travel to immoderate benignant of commercialized solution by July 21.

The president is pursuing a three-pronged attack to tariffs arsenic helium tries to radically reshape the American economy.

In summation to the Section 232 tariffs, Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff connected each non-CUSMA compliant goods coming from Canada, with a little complaint connected vigor and potash, arsenic portion of a border-related tariffs regime.

Trump has said those tariffs are designed to punish Canada for not doing capable to ace down connected the fentanyl cause trade, adjacent arsenic U.S. information shows comparatively small of that deadly cause crosses the bluish border.

Canada has truthful acold been spared Trump's alleged "retaliatory" tariffs, which were paused successful portion for immoderate countries aft the April banal marketplace crash.