President Donald Trump of the United States announced that a 50% tariff on copper will be implemented starting August 1.
On July 9 (local time), President Trump stated on his social networking service (SNS) Truth Social, "This decision was made after a strong national security assessment," and made this announcement.
On this day, President Trump said, "Copper is essential for semiconductors, aircraft, ships, ammunition, data centers, lithium-ion batteries, radar systems, and the hypersonic weapons we are currently producing in large quantities," adding, "Copper is the second most used material by the U.S. Department of Defense."
He continued, "Why did our foolish (and sleepy) leaders destroy this vital industry?" and added, "This 50% tariff will overturn the reckless and foolish actions of the Biden administration."
President Trump emphasized, "The United States will once again build a dominant copper industry," and declared, "Ultimately, now is our golden era."
The previous day, President Trump had announced at a cabinet meeting his intention to impose a 50% tariff on copper. On this day, he specified the exact effective date. The copper tariff is based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in an interview with CNBC the previous day that President Trump is also conducting tariff-related investigations on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals under the same law, and that a decision on whether to impose tariffs could be made as early as the end of this month.
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