President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate implementing tariffs on copper imports with the goal of increasing domestic production.
Trump said in the order that America’s reliance on other countries for copper seriously undermined national security. With that in mind, he directed Lutnick to examine potential tariffs on copper, export controls, and other incentives to increase copper production in the United States.
“Copper is a critical material essential to the national security, economic strength, and industrial resilience of the United States,” Trump said in the executive order. “The United States faces significant vulnerabilities in the copper supply chain, with increasing reliance on foreign sources for mined, smelted, and refined copper.”
Trump said copper was useful for defense applications, infrastructure, and new technologies, including clean energy, electric vehicles, and electronics.
Lutnick’s investigation was authorized under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to restrict imports based on national security concerns as determined by the Department of Commerce. Last year, most of America’s copper imports came from Chile, Canada, and Peru.
The order referenced China, which leads the world in copper smelting and refining.
“A single foreign producer dominates global copper smelting and refining, controlling over 50 percent of global smelting capacity and holding four of the top five largest refining facilities,” the executive order said. “This dominance, coupled with global overcapacity and a single producer’s control of world supply chains, poses a direct threat to United States national security and economic stability.”
Trump told Lutnick to look at different policies to strengthen America’s supply chain, including strategic investments, permitting reforms, and enhanced recycling initiatives. Lutnick was directed to produce a report on his findings with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
“Like our steel and aluminum industries, our great American copper industry has been decimated by global actors attacking our domestic production,” Lutnick said after the announcement. “To build back our copper industry, I will investigate the imposition of possible tariffs. Tariffs can help build back our American copper industry if necessary and strengthen our national defense.”
“American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America,” he added. “No exemptions, no exceptions. ‘America First’ creates jobs and protects our national security. It’s time for copper to come home.”