Copper prices surged on Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will impose a 50% tariff on copper imports as he seeks to boost domestic production of the critical metal.
The price of copper hit a record high following the president’s announcement at a Cabinet meeting in front of the press that his administration will impose a 50% tariff on copper, following Trump’s move earlier this year to initiate a national security review of copper imports that is expected to conclude this summer.
“Today we’re doing copper,” the president said. “I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make it 50%,” though he didn’t specify whether it would be limited to copper imports from certain countries. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated the tariffs will be imposed later in July or in August.
Copper futures rose 13% following the announcement, the biggest one-day move in the commodity’s history, as the tariff plans signaled more constraints on an already in-demand metal.
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Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group and FOX Business Network, wrote in an investor note that copper was already facing a “structural shortage” due to it being in high demand as a conductive metal amid rising electricity demand stemming from data centers and artificial intelligence.
Flynn wrote that the “market realized just how critically tied global copper supplies really are” and added that the copper market “may need a shock to get prices higher so we can meet the demand” that’s expected to continue to grow in the future.
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Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, wrote in an investor note that investors “were caught off guard, as the market had been expecting a much lower tariff rate.”
Turnquist added that the surge in demand for U.S. copper pushed domestic prices to a 25% premium over copper trading at the London Metal Exchange, which has seen copper inventories depleted and could lead to a global supply shortage.
“Rising copper prices could significantly affect copper-intensive sectors such as building construction, equipment manufacturing, electric vehicles, and electronic products,” Turnquist wrote. “The widespread use of copper might also fuel inflation concerns.”
Copper prices have risen more than 37% in 2025 so far, including a 29% rise in the past six months and an increase of more than 12% in the last month.
Over the past year, copper prices are up more than 21%.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Reuters contributed to this report.
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