New York/London (dpa-AfX)-US President Donald Trump’s customs policy has caused violent price surcharges at the important industrial metal copper in the USA. Trump announced August 1st on Thursday night as a start for copper zölle of 50 percent. Already on Tuesday it became known that Trump wanted to raise extra tariffs for certain industry imports independently of the country – the start time for copper was still unclear. Economists had expected a significantly lower sentence.
The copper price in the USA had increased to a record high on Tuesday at the New York Stock Exchange Comex. A pound of copper at times cost $ 5.6. Previously, the price had been around $ 5.0. In London, on the other hand, the price is traded in metric tons, i.e. 1,000 kilograms each. A ton last cost $ 9,660. A metric bin corresponds to around £ 2,205. This would be the price on the Comex for a ton of over $ 12,000.
The prices last fell on the metal exchange LME in London. This ensured a historical price difference of 28 percent. “This could expand at short notice: US importers could try to store as much copper as possible before the tariffs come into force,” says Postbank. Usually the LME specifies the direction of the prices worldwide.
Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Thursday: “America will build a dominant copper industry again.” However, experts consider this to be unlikely and calculate with significant price increases in the United States.
“If the tariffs apply permanently, higher prices for US consumers would be inevitable, since domestic production cannot cover the need – especially in view of the growing copper requirement by data centers, automotive industry and energy suppliers,” write the Commerzbank experts.
Copper is the most common metal used by the Ministry of Defense, Trump justified the decision. Copper is used for ammunition, for example. The decision about the tariffs was made after a “robust” review of national security, says Trump. The United States is currently dependent on imports. The USA imports copper mainly from Chile, Canada and Mexico./Jsl/la/jha/