Billionaire mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland welcomed US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, arguing that domestic production of the metal was “fundamental to America’s national security”.

President Trump's imposition of a 50% tariff on copper imports, effective August 1, 2025, addresses national security concerns tied to America's reliance on foreign copper. This move aims to bolster domestic mining and refining,

President Trump will wield 50% copper tariffs on August 1 as he promises more to come with countries such as Brazil in the crosshairs. Nvidia scores the first $4 trillion market cap milestone, lifting the Nasdaq to a record.

Comex copper turns lower a day after President Trump announced a higher than expected 50% tariff on copper imports that caused a record spike in US futures and a drop in the global benchmark

Copper shipments into the United States are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks in a final scramble to get metal across the border before U.S. President Donald Trump's higher than expected 50% tariff on imported copper takes effect.

That drove the price of copper futures on US markets up by almost a fifth on Tuesday. Of course, a mooted blanket 50 per cent tariff is unlikely to be the final result. Now come the negotiations and capitulations.

Prysmian (OTCPK:PRYMF) (OTCPK:PRYMY) +3.6% in European trading on Wednesday as the world's largest cable maker's large U.S. business is viewed as a beneficiary of U.S. tariffs on copper, as the company sources the metal locally and can pass on higher prices to customers.

A classic economic indicator is flashing red but not for the usual reasons. On Tuesday, the day after rolling out blanket tariffs on a slate of countries, President Trump said the US would put a 50 percent tariff on copper. Prices for the metal surged more than 10% to an all-time high.