Trump’s 50% copper tariff, announced July 8, 2025, targets Chile, Canada, Mexico. A trade and political ploy, it risks economic fallout with U.S. copper use at 1.85M tons, only 1.12M tons of it is domestic production.

China's grip on rare earth supplies is disrupting auto and defense manufacturing, exposing critical vulnerabilities in Western industrial and security supply chains.

Copper mining is shifting from surface oxide deposits to deeper sulfide ores, increasing refining complexity and costs.