United States. Customs duties: Trump announces a 50% surcharge on copper starting August 1

Brazil and copper are the two new targets of Donald Trump 's tariff offensive. The US president announced Wednesday evening a 50% surcharge on copper imports starting August ¹ .

A decision in the name of US national security, while this metal was until now exempt from the minimum 10% customs duties imposed in April. He had instead announced that he wanted to impose 50% additional customs duties on Brazilian products in support of former President Jair Bolsonaro .

"I am announcing a 50% copper surcharge, effective August ¹ , 2025, after receiving a thorough national security assessment," the US president said on his social media account on Wednesday, likely referring to a Commerce Department investigation.

“Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense!” he raged, citing the country’s needs for building semiconductors, aircraft, ships, munitions, data centers, and missile defense systems, among other things.

In the name of rebalancing trade relations in favor of the United States, Donald Trump imposed a minimum 10% surcharge on imports in April, including those that cannot be produced locally, but with exemptions, notably for gold, copper, oil, and medicines.

He revisited these exceptions on Tuesday, considering, for example, a 200% surcharge on pharmaceutical products and a 50% surcharge on copper — a threat that sent the price of the metal soaring nearly 10% in New York on Tuesday, surpassing its all-time high. If the copper tariffs go into effect, the prices of goods made from the metal (refrigerators, cars, etc.) could rise, as they do for other products subject to import surcharges.

Since Monday, around twenty countries have received a letter announcing the surcharge that will apply as of August ^1st on their products entering the United States. On Monday, fourteen capitals, mainly in Asia, had received a letter, with a surcharge ranging from 25% (Japan, South Korea, Tunisia in particular) to 40% (Laos and Burma) and 36% (Cambodia and Thailand).

In his letters, the American president assured that any response would be met with an additional tariff of the same magnitude. So far, only two have been announced, with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while a compromise has been initialed with China.

Donald Trump had stated on Tuesday that he planned to send further letters this week, notably to the European Union (EU). On Wednesday, a European Commission spokesperson assured that the EU expected to reach an agreement with the United States "in the coming days." The EU's goal is to avoid any surcharges (beyond the 10% floor), with exemptions for key sectors such as aeronautics, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages.