With a bold new 50% copper tariff on the way, Trump fans the flames of trade war 2.0—and the markets are bracing for the fallout.

Welcome Back to the Trade War (Now with More Copper)

Just when you thought global markets were learning to breathe again, Donald Trump stormed back into the spotlight with a potential 50% tariff on copper imports. That’s right—half of the value of every ounce of foreign copper will now be handed to Uncle Sam (or more accurately, the Treasury’s tax bucket).

In true Trumpian fashion, the announcement wasn’t made via policy brief or international forum—it was lobbed into the media like a grenade. "Today we're doing copper," Trump said. "We're going to make it 50%." Where was this said? At a televised cabinet meeting…

And just like that, copper—the metal quietly powering your EV, your solar panel, and your kid’s laptop—became the latest pawn in the ex-president’s trade revival fantasy.

Why Copper? Why Now?

Copper isn’t glamorous, but it’s absolutely essential to the global economy. From electric vehicle batteries and 5G infrastructure to plumbing and electronics, the reddish-brown metal is the unsung hero of industrial progress.

Copper plays a vital role in the production of everything from electronics and industrial machinery to automobiles. Slapping tariffs on it could drive up the cost of these goods for American consumers. According to data from the U.S. Commerce Department, the country imported $17 billion worth of copper in the past year—$6 billion of which came from Chile, its top foreign supplier.

While some analysists are claiming that markets are becoming desensitized to Trump’s moves, Copper futures on the Comex surged by up to 17% on Tuesday—their biggest single-day jump on record—before retreating over 4% in early Wednesday trading. The New York contract was trading at a hefty 24% premium compared to equivalent futures in London, which typically set the global benchmark. As of 8:23 a.m. Wednesday in Shanghai, New York copper was priced at $5.5085 per pound, while prices on the London Metal Exchange had dipped 1.7% to $9,627 per ton, according to Yahoo Finance’s numbers.

Winners, Losers, and the Electrons in Between

The copper tariff might give a temporary sugar high to a few U.S. miners and smelters, but it’s likely to send shockwaves through the wider economy.

Losers? Just about anyone who uses copper—tech companies, automakers, homebuilders, electricians, and, oh yeah, consumers. Prices are expected to surge, and fast. Copper futures jumped after the announcement and we’re not sure where they’re going to land.

The EV industry is particularly vulnerable, with copper an essential part of every vehicle, higher costs could trickle down into sticker prices. Bad news for Tesla, Rivian, and Ford’s much-hyped electric F-150.

Even green energy advocates are sounding the alarm. Solar panels and wind turbines are copper-hungry tech, and a sudden tariff could throttle deployment just as the U.S. tries to ramp up renewable energy infrastructure.

Meanwhile, foreign exporters like Chile and Peru—the world’s top copper suppliers—have surely seen this coming. Their next steps could prove interesting.

Politics First, Markets Second

Let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t really about copper. It’s about campaign optics, and Trump knows how to spin an economic gut punch into a populist rally cry. Blame the foreigners. Punish the elites. Promise the blue-collar dream.

It worked in 2016. It might work again. But the markets? They’re not thrilled.

Great for Rhetoric, Terrible for Everything Else

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that nothing Trump says is guaranteed to stick. This copper tariff—like many of his economic moves—may be as much about noise as it is about policy.

But if it does hold? Buckle up. We could be in for rising prices, angry allies, and a messy trade tangle at a time when global supply chains are already wobbling.

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