On July 30, President Trump issued a Fact Sheet and Presidential Proclamation imposing 50% tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper and intensive copper derivative products pursuant to Section 232 of the Trace Expansion Act of 1962 due to national security concerns.
The duty applies to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT August 1st. The scope of the products subject to these tariffs may be found in the Annex at the bottom of the Proclamation. Further, the Commerce Department will establish a process to add products to the scope of the tariffs within 90 days.
The 50% will apply on the value of the copper content only and in addition to IEEPA reciprocal tariffs, or other duties such as IEEPA fentanyl-related tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, or Section 301 tariffs on China.
Moreover, goods admitted into a foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT August 1 must be admitted under "privileged foreign" status (per 19 CFR 146.41). Further, duty drawback is prohibited.
Excluded from the additional tariffs are:
- Goods subject to Section 232 automobiles and automobile parts tariffs
- Goods eligible for admission into a foreign trade zone under "domestic" status (per 19 CFR 146.43).
Also, the President directed the Commerce Department to monitor imports to determine if modifications are required. The Commerce Department report on domestic copper markets, including refining capacity and the market for refined copper in the U.S. is due June 30, 2026 and could support the President imposing on refined copper a 15% tariff effective January 1, 2027, and 30% tariff on January 1, 2028 (note: the Fact Sheet references potential increased tariffs on such goods up to 40% in 2029, but the Presidential Proclamation does not reference such dates or additional tariff amounts).
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