President Donald Trump opened yet another front on Tuesday in his shakeup of global trade norms, ordering a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and consumer goods.
Trump, looking to thwart what his advisers see as a move by China to dominate the global copper market, signed an order at the White House directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to start a national security probe under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That is the same law Trump used in his first term to impose 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminum.
A White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said any potential tariff rate would be determined by the investigation, adding that Trump preferred tariffs over quotas.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the investigation would be completed quickly, "in Trump time."
Navarro said China was using state subsidies and economic influence to gain control over global copper production, in much the same way it now dominates steel and aluminum production.
That said, the countries set to be most affected by any new U.S. copper tariffs would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers of refined copper and copper articles in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
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