COPPER JUST GOT CLOBBERED

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July 30, 2025

The White House today released a proclamation signed by President Trump increasing tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper products (such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes) and copper-intensive derivative products (such as pipe fittings, cables, connectors, and electrical components) to 50%.

The increased tariffs—imposed under the authority of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962—become effective August 1, 2025. Read the White House fact sheet

The proclamation further states that the Secretary shall, within 90 days, establish a process for including additional derivative copper articles within the scope of the increased tariffs.

LET'S SEE...SEE THE BOLDED ENCOMPASSES MANY INDUSTRIES...NEW BUILT HOMES FOR ONE, HOUSING MARKET IMPACTED....OH MY...WHAT ELSE COULD BE ON THE LIST

Switch to PVC pipes? Melt down all the pennies! Increase domestic copper mining. The market will overcome.

FredHayek wrote: Switch to PVC pipes? Melt down all the pennies! Increase domestic copper mining. The market will overcome.

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WAIT AND WATCH....HE JUST NOW YANKED TARIFFS AROUND AT THE VERY LAST SECOND....
THIS IS A SHAKE DOWN BY A MOB BOSS.....WELCOME TO YOUR NEXT NIGHTMARE...

Will American copper mines expand operations?

Will American copper pipe sales increase? Instead of accepting imports of low quality copper pipes from China, consumers and manufacturers will get better quality US made.

Or would you rather save a few pennies on your bathroom pipes until they burst behind your drywall?

I can all but guarantee you that new home construction is all PEX these days. I called a plumber recently to add a supply line and he said he won't even consider working with copper because he takes too big a hit on his profit margin.

The penny? That hasn't been mostly/exclusively copper for decades. Today it is a copper cladded zinc blank that is used. 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper. That's why you have to take a child, or pet, to a doctor if they swallow a penny - the coin is mostly zinc and unless it passes quickly the acids in the stomach will dissolve the zinc and it can result in zinc poisoning. Didn't have that problem when they were nearly all copper, and the other coins were an alloy of silver and copper (coin silver).

PrintSmith wrote: I can all but guarantee you that new home construction is all PEX these days. I called a plumber recently to add a supply line and he said he won't even consider working with copper because he takes too big a hit on his profit margin.

The penny? That hasn't been mostly/exclusively copper for decades. Today it is a copper cladded zinc blank that is used. 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper. That's why you have to take a child, or pet, to a doctor if they swallow a penny - the coin is mostly zinc and unless it passes quickly the acids in the stomach will dissolve the zinc and it can result in zinc poisoning. Didn't have that problem when they were nearly all copper, and the other coins were an alloy of silver and copper (coin silver).

BINGO....WAIT FOR THE FULL EFFECT OF TARIFFS (AND THERE R MANY OF THEM) TO FINAL HIT THE CONSUMER,IT WON'T BE INSTANTANEOUS .....LET'S SEE WHAT THE HOLIDAYS BRING AND AFTER, BECAUSE MOST BIG BOX STORES PRE LOADED THEIR INVENTORY...WHEN THAT RUNS OUT.....WE R SCREWED,BUT HEY, THE CZAR HAS INSISTED THE TARIFFS WILL IMPROVE THE BOTTOM LINE....JUST NOT FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN......DO THE RESEARCH ON WHAT IS ALREADY ELEVATED IN PRICE FROM LAST YEAR....THE BASICS. THE STORE WILL ONLY EAT SO MUCH OF THE TARIFF AND THEN U R THE RECIPIENT OF THE CZAR'S CONCERTED EFFORT TO FIND THE MONEY FOR THE TAX CUTS TO HIS 'BESTIES'.

So I see the goalposts have been moved from a recession in Q2 to waiting and watching for events near the end of Q4 in the span of only 6 months . . . how long are we to wait and watch HA . . . until the Democrats have the trifecta next time?

[quote="PrintSmith" post=414311]So I see the goalposts have been moved from a recession in Q2 to waiting and watching for events near the end of Q4 in the span of only 6 months . . . how long are we to wait and watch HA . . . until the Democrats have the trifecta next time?[/quote]


THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST MICRO STATEMENT I HAVE SEEN LATELY.....U EXPECT INSTANTANEOUS INCREASE? LOOK TO POWELL'S POV......HE KNOWS THIS PATH TO INCREASES R COMING AND HE SEES THE IMPACTS THAT WILL PROBABLY BRING...LOOK TO MY NEW POST THIS AM.....THE DISCUSSION IS ABOUT INCREASES UP AND COMING AND THEY R SOONER NOT LATER......THE BLINDERS ON HORSES R THERE FOR A REASON.....SO THEY DON'T GET SPOOKED....THE BLINDERS ON A PERSON R THERE BECAUSE REALITY DOES NOT WANT TO BE FACED.......POWELL HAS THE PULSE AND HE WILL BE ;PULLED BECAUSE IT DOES NOT MATCH WHAT THE CZAR WANTS......KEEP THE PEOPLE BLINDFOLDED.

You are always talking about taking the long view, right before you seek to criticize utilizing a short view. The goal is to increase capacity in the US for mining, smelting, and finishing copper products. Capacity for all of those has decreased in the US rather than increased over the last couple of decades. Not because there isn't a supply, not because there isn't a demand, but purely for political profit.

Not surprisingly, while Biden was all about expanding the use of electricity for cars, heating, and cooking, he was, at the same time, advancing policy that reduced the ability of our Union to produce the copper that would be needed to expand those markets.

We are currently shipping about 30% of the ore we mine to China for processing . . . why? Why not expand the ability to process the ore here instead? Why should we encourage, rather than discourage, that practice of sending ore out and importing the smelted metal? It is better for our economy, and our security, if that work is done here. And that's what the recently announced tariffs are going to do, return the processing of copper ore domestically, expand the ability to mine the ore, and return the production of finished copper products to our domestic supply chain by taking away a foreign nation's ability to control our access to that highly important metal.

Timelines For Copper Mines Are A Major Roadblock

While tariffs could help jumpstart new mining projects in the U.S., Yergin warns of obstacles to increasing domestic energy security in the near term, mainly due to issues around timing. “On average around the world, it takes about 16 years from discovery of a new mine to first production. Currently in the United States, it takes 29 years,” he points out, adding, “I mean, you start and then your career is over. It’s an entire career spent on a single mine.”

We discussed the fact that, starting in the first Trump administration in 2017, repeated attempts have been mounted to streamline federal permitting processes, to little effect. Trump and his key cabinet officials - Lee Zeldin at EPA, Chris Wright at the Energy Department, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum - have permitting reform at the top of their agenda, too. And, as Yergin points out, shrinking the timeline to first production is one of the top priorities of the new National Energy Dominance Council headed up by Burgum.

Yergin notes that there are at least two big new copper projects being developed in Arizona, but their production start dates remain years away. And, as all the administrative and congressional wheels keep spinning, there is a risk that timelines could keep extending.
Ore truck at copper mine in Montana


“And it isn’t just permitting” that extends timelines to first production, Yergin says. “it's the subsequent judicial review that goes on and on. There are some great proposed projects in the United States that, instead of mining ore, just end up mining legal briefs instead.”

In a detailed, comprehensive piece in Foreign Affairs published in February, Yergin, writing with Peter Orszag and Atul Arya, foresaw the looming heightened prioritization of domestic mining for copper and other critical energy minerals, predicting “a shift from ‘big oil’ to ‘big shovels.’

Such an increase would mean “more mining and processing, driven by major new investments and resulting in much-expanded industrial activity.” But, Yergin, Orszag and Arya add, “the complexities surrounding mining and critical minerals represent another major constraint on the pace of the energy transition.”
The Future For Copper And U.S. Energy Security

Unlike most other critical energy minerals, U.S. imports of copper do enjoy the current advantage of supply chains not under the dominance of China’s government. But, with the uncertain nature of Chile’s government and with China’s investments and Belt-and-Road Initiative already making significant inroads into Latin America, no one can predict how long that will remain the case. Increasing tensions between the U.S. and Canada driven by concerns over tariffs and border security issues also serve to elevate future supply concerns.

Meanwhile, America’s vibrant tech sector keeps rolling out a steady stream of new energy hungry technologies, causing overall demand to accelerate at an increasingly rapid pace. All of which means that Trump’s instinct that the U.S. should get back into the hardrock mining business in a big way is on point regardless of the way the tariff strategy plays out.

Most discussions around copper, critical energy minerals, and domestic mining over the past half-decade centered on the needs of the government-subsidized energy transition. Yergin points out that the entire energy transition project as outlined over the last several years is not happening, adding “it is a process that needs to be rethought, needs to catch up with reality.”

While that is happening, the discussion around copper and mining for it must refocus on how America will be able to keep the lights on and the electrons flowing in the coming years. It’s a complex question with no easy answers. PER FORBES... SUB REQUIRED


WHILE HE MAY BE RIGHT....EXPEDITING THE PROCESS IS NOT HAPPENING...PERHAPS HE SHOULD HAVE CONCENTRATED ON THIS PROJECT INSTEAD OF FUCKING WITH WOMEN'S BODIES.