President Trump said Tuesday that an ongoing investigation of tariffs on copper will end with 50% duties on the metal in remarks where he also threatened 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The comments came during a wide-ranging cabinet meeting where he also said Europe will get tariffs dictated to them this week and that Jerome Powell should resign, adding more developments to what was already a week dominated by trade and economics in Washington, D.C.
“Today we’re doing copper,” Trump said during the meeting, and turned to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick who confirmed that the rate will be 50%.
The apparent move will match the current 50% tariffs on two other commodities — steel and aluminum. The announcement sent copper prices immediately up over 10% before prices retreated some later Tuesday afternoon.
The president didn’t specifically outline when the new copper tariff would take effect but he has the power to implement them immediately once an investigation by his administration is concluded.
The president also teased other major announcements set for the coming weeks on top of this week’s focus on “reciprocal” tariffs, saying “we’re going to be announcing pharmaceuticals, chips” in the weeks ahead — a reference to upcoming plans around prescription drugs and semiconductors.
He didn’t offer a specific timeline on the pharmaceutical tariffs but suggested there could be a extended easing in period.
“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,” he said, while also offering an eye-popping number for the final duty by saying it will be “a very, very high rate, like 200%.”
“We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together,” Trump added.
His action on copper could be felt more quickly, with the president signaling an end to an ongoing Commerce Department investigation of possible duties under Section 232 tariff authority that began in February.
Trump implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum in March but held off on copper.
It was yet another aggressive Trump move on trade in a week where he threatened of 25% duties on South Korea and Japan on Monday and then said on Tuesday that a new tariff deadline of Aug. 1 won’t be extended.
It was a return to trade rhetoric from Trump that has been more muted in recent weeks but was on full display during the cabinet meeting and has marked Trump’s political career as part of what he says is his quest to protect America.
“People that sat in this room allowed it to happen,” he said of previous trade policies while talking in the White House’s Cabinet room, “and I don’t allow it to happen.”
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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