On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into possible new tariffs on brass imports.
However, unlike Trump’s past tax presentations, White House officials said the metal research was prompted by a national security threat, not business imbalances.
TRUMP USES EXECUTIVE ACTION TO FORTIFY TARIFF AGENDA AND COUNTER CHINA
A senior White House official said on Tuesday that” we know we’re gradually losing melting and processing power, both in absolute and relative words,” noting the prevalence of copper and copper wiring in U.S. military technology and the rapid price at which the earth is “increasingly being electrified.”
White House officials stated that any potential “interdictions” would “make it hard for us to defend ourselves and generally run a successful economy,” but the administration did not respond to questions about any fresh investments, from either domestic or foreign entities, that the president might be appealing to boost local supply.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is required to build a Section 232 research by Trump’s purchase. Those studies usually take 270 weeks to two years to complete, but Peter Navarro, Trump’s top White home counsellor for manufacturing and trade, said he expected the research to be completed in” Trump period, which is as quickly as possible”.
Navarro also attributed China’s growing “economic influence” on global copper markets to contributing to upcoming supply issues.
The United States has experienced stagnation in terms of domestic smelting and refining capacity, but it also has a general trade surplus for copper and its downstream products. Beijing recently funded a new copper smelting facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
CANADA AND MEXICO TARIFFS ‘ GOING FORWARD ON TIME, ON SCHEDULE’: TRUMP
Our great American copper industry has been decimated by global actors who are attacking our domestic production, just like our steel and aluminum industries. To build back our copper industry, I will investigate the imposition of possible tariffs”, Lutnick said in a statement coinciding with Trump’s announcement, adding,” It’s time for copper to come home”.
Still, White House officials declined to answer questions on details of potential tariffs, saying publicly doing so would undermine the Commerce Department’s investigation.
