Trump’s Copper Tariff Threat Leaves Companies Scrambling

President Trump’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff on copper imports is causing concern in some of the industries he says he wants to protect.

More than 40 percent of the copper used in the United States is imported, even though the country has large deposits. Mr. Trump has said that tariffs will help secure the supply chain for industries that are critical for national security, such as semiconductors, shipbuilding and lithium-ion batteries. But the announcement left many executives scrambling to assess the impact on their companies.

Copper futures hit a record Tuesday after the president said the new tax was imminent, and the price per pound is up more than 40 percent this year.

Businesses will either have to pass these higher prices onto customers or absorb them. Many of the same companies that need copper are already grappling with the tariffs that the Trump administration has imposed on steel and aluminum imports, as well as country-specific levies.

Mike Zimm, the vice president of marketing for Kris-Tech, a company that makes insulated copper wire used by utilities, solar farms and industrial construction firms, said he was shocked when he saw the price increase on Tuesday. “I was getting messages from my team, ‘Look what happened to copper,’” he said. His company, which imports thick spools of wire, quickly raised its own prices. “This jump is real and we are treating it as real. Prices will go up. They have to, to afford that cost.”

An increase in domestic production won’t happen overnight. It could take up to 10 years for some companies to change to a new supplier of copper and other high-grade minerals, according to the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group that represents several defense companies. The group supports the Trump administration’s aim of moving more copper production to the United States, but it also said that trade agreements with big copper supplying countries should remain in place. Imports from those countries will be a critical part of American supply chains for some time.