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Where does the US obtain its copper?

On Tuesday, U.S. president Donald Trump said that he would be announcing a new initiative.

Imports of copper are subject to a 50% tariff

Later in the day, a global industry, whose output is crucial for electric vehicles, military equipment, semiconductors, and a variety of consumer goods, was surprised.

Trump had a February election.

Ordered a Probe

As part of efforts by the United States to rebuild its production of copper, there is a deadline of November for possible tariffs.

The investigation, which was meant to evaluate the imports of copper concentrates, copper scrap, and copper alloys, was still ongoing.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Howard Lutnick announced on Tuesday that the duties will likely be implemented by the end or August 1 of this year.

What you should know about U.S. Copper Imports

US IMPORTS

Just over half of the refined copper that is consumed in the United States each year is produced domestically. Over two-thirds are mined in Arizona where the construction of a new massive mine has been held up for over a decade. The remainder of refined copper is imported, which amounts to just under 1 million metric tonnes per year.

The White House has framed these new tariffs to counter China's dominance on the global market. However, in reality the United States imports the majority of its refined copper products from the Americas.

According to the United States Geological Survey, more than 90% (90%) of copper refined imports were made by Chile, Canada, and Peru last year.

GLOBAL PRODUCTION

China is the world's largest copper refiner, but it gets most of its ore from Latin America. According to the USGS, Chile and Peru mined a combined third of global cobalt last year.

China, however, is increasing its influence over the world copper mining industry through its major investment in mines located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Due to massive Chinese investments in the African nation's mining industry, the DRC has now overtaken Peru as the second largest copper producer in the world.

The Chinese copper sector dwarfs the rest. Last year, the country operated dozens of copper-smelters. According to the USGS, there are only two primary copper-smelters in the United States.

(source: Reuters)