TORONTO – While Canadian copper miners have largely said U.S. copper tariffs won’t affect them, some market analysts are wondering how realistic the threat really even is.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was planning to impose 50 per cent tariffs on copper imports, though any details on possible exemptions or timing have yet to be announced.
Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, says in a note that the broader market hasn’t reacted much to the threat, and it could be that investors are waiting to see proof that the tariffs are actually going to happen, and endure, before changing their bets.
He notes that the price of copper has already soared in recent years — driven in part by demands from electric vehicles and the energy transition — and U.S. tariff moves would only drive costs higher.
Holt says there is no sensible rationale for the tariffs, whose costs will be paid by American consumers and businesses.
Mining Association of Canada president Pierre Gratton has also questioned the wisdom of the move that he says would hurt U.S. manufacturers and help China.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.
