Here’s Why Copper Prices Hit A Record High
ForbesJUL 10
Trump Announces 50% Copper Tariff, Prices Hit Record High
Above: Copper coils inside a motor are displayed at the Nidec Corp. Qingdao Industrial Park in Qingdao, China, on July 9, 2025. Image copyright: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump's 50% copper tariff embodies his America First vision of industrial resurrection. By making foreign copper prohibitively expensive, he aims to revive domestic mining, rebuild critical supply chains, and restore American self-sufficiency in essential materials. The policy seeks to transform economic dependence into industrial sovereignty, forcing companies to source this vital infrastructure metal from American soil.
Anti-Trump narrative
Trump's copper tariff epitomizes a fatal folly of protectionism. While promising domestic revival, it immediately burdens U.S. manufacturers and consumers with inflated costs for essential infrastructure needs. With domestic production requiring decades to scale and smelting capacity critically limited, this policy creates artificial scarcity, undermines competitiveness, and transforms necessary industrial inputs into luxury commodities.