U.S. president Donald Trump announced massive new tariffs on imports of copper and pharmaceuticals Tuesday, but Canadian officials brushed it off because the details still aren’t official.
In a White House meeting, Trump announced he’d be imposing 50 per cent tariffs on imports of copper and a “very, very high rate” on pharmaceuticals.
The precise timing? To be announced.
“Today we are doing copper,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting. “I believe the tariff on copper, we are going to make it 50 per cent.”
For pharmaceutical imports, the tariffs will be even higher, Trump promised.
“We’re going to give people about a year, a year and a half, to come in and after that they’re going to be tariffed,” Trump said. “If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country … they’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 per cent. We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together,” he said.
The level of the copper tariff was reiterated in the meeting by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. But the president was not scheduled to sign any executive orders Tuesday to implement the duties.
On Monday, Trump issued letters to 14 countries, including China and Japan, notifying them of broad-based “reciprocal” tariffs based on what the U.S. called historical trade imbalances. Wednesday is the official end of a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs, which were initially announced in early April as part of what Trump called “Liberation Day.”
Jean-Sébastien Comeau, a spokesperson for federal intergovernmental affairs minister Dominic LeBlanc, said the government would not comment on any tariff unless it is written into an executive order from Trump’s office.
Canadian exports of copper and copper-based products were valued at $9.3 billion in 2023 with just over half going to the U.S., according to Natural Resources Canada. Exports of copper ores and concentrates were valued at $3.4 billion.
Canadian mining companies wouldn’t be especially affected because most raw copper production is exported to Asia, said Pierre Gratton, head of the Mining Association of Canada.
“The copper concentrate that we mine tends to go to other markets, so this is kind of immaterial. It’s disruptive, but it’s immaterial.”
Canadian copper refineries would be hit, but since the U.S. doesn’t have enough domestic capacity, the tariffs would mean passing on more costs to U.S. buyers, Gratton said.
“So once again, President Trump is penalizing the U.S. manufacturing sector, or would be if this goes ahead.”
And, Gratton added, Trump would be giving a leg up to copper imports from a country he’s theoretically trying to hurt the most.
“It’s going to hurt U.S. manufacturers, it’s going to hurt some of our mines. But it might inadvertently be helping Chinese smelters, because the U.S really doesn’t have any spare smelting capacity,” said Gratton.
For the Canadian pharmaceutical industry, the slow-rolling timeline means more uncertainty, but also potential relief, said Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceuticals Association.
“One thing we’ve learned is not to overreact to every comment,” said Keon. “A year and a half is a long time for this administration.”
While Canada accounts for just five per cent of generic drugs imported by the U.S., it will still be a major hit for some producers here, Keon said.
“It’s a very significant market for some of our members. Companies will not be able to absorb a 200 per cent tariff,” Keon said.
The U.S. should really be targeting pharmaceuticals from countries like China and India, which produce the lion’s share of generic pharmaceuticals, Keon added.
“We’re not the ones being targeted, but we might get caught in the crossfire,” said Keon.
Hopefully, Keon added, bilateral negotiations with the U.S. will mean Canadian producers could get a break from sector-specific tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he’s aiming for a deal with Trump by July 21.
Either way, he said, American consumers will need to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for medication.
“Putting in place a major tariff is likely going to lead to increased costs for the foreseeable future,” said Keon. “Are U.S. patients and buyers going to be willing to pay higher prices? That’s one of the issues.”
With files from Alex Ballingall and Star wire services
