US authorities may impose tariffs on US copper imports in the next few weeks - several months earlier than planned, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
In February, US President Donald Trump instructed the country's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to consider imposing tariffs on the metal. The Commerce Secretary was expected to submit a report on the results of the audit to the head of the US administration within 270 days. However, according to sources, such a report is “just a formality” following Trump's repeated threats to impose tariffs.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25% on all U.S. copper imports, which Bloomberg said could "shake up the global market." Copper, one of the world's most sought-after metals, is already priced significantly higher in New York than in other international markets. The price difference between copper purchases in New York and London hit a historic high this week, exceeding $1,400 a ton.
The wide price difference in the metal has prompted traders and dealers to ship copper to the U.S. for higher profits. Similar moves have depleted supplies in other markets, including China, the world's largest consumer of the commodity. Copper trading company Trafigura estimates that the price of the metal could rise to $12,000 per tonne by the end of the year from the current $10,000.
On February 1, Trump signed an executive order imposing higher tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico. A 10% tariff on imports from China went into effect on February 4, while tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products were delayed by a month pending negotiations with the governments of those countries. On March 4, the US administration imposed a 25% tariff on almost all imports from Canada and Mexico, and also raised tariffs on goods from China from 10% to 20%.
On March 11, Trump announced that the US would raise tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada to the United States to 50%. He explained that this decision was made after Canadian authorities imposed retaliatory tariffs on electricity supplied to the United States.