Trump orders universal 50 pct tariff on imports of certain copper products

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation to address the effects of copper imports, imposing universal 50 percent tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products, effective on Aug. 1.

The proclamation directs the U.S. secretary of commerce to establish a product "inclusion" process to add copper derivative products to these tariffs, and the president is authorizing the secretary of commerce to take steps under the Defense Production Act to support the domestic copper industry, the White House said in a fact sheet.

Copper is essential to the manufacturing foundation on which U.S. national and economic security depend, and is a necessary input in a range of defense systems, including aircraft, ground vehicles, ships, submarines, missiles and ammunition, according to the fact sheet.

U.S. copper futures on Comex plunged 20 percent after the announcement, Bloomberg reported. Until Wednesday afternoon, U.S. copper prices had been trading around 28 percent above benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange, as traders anticipated the tariff would be applied to all refined metal imports.

The decision is the latest surprise from Trump to upend the copper market, Bloomberg said in its report. When the president first flagged the likelihood of tariffs early this year, he triggered a surge in U.S. copper prices relative to the rest of the world and set off a race to ship copper to the United States to beat the tariffs, delivering substantial profits to some of the world's biggest metals traders.

Trump orders universal 50 pct tariff on imports of certain copper products

Trump orders universal 50 pct tariff on imports of certain copper products

Trump orders universal 50 pct tariff on imports of certain copper products

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting