Yesterday, President Trump unveiled 50% tariffs on copper products. U.S. copper prices had surged to records after Trump said he would impose a 50% import tax on the metal. But yesterday the White House said copper ores, concentrate, cathodes and scrap would be exempted with the tariffs focusing on products made with copper, such as pipe and wire. The news normalized market prices, which are now back to where they were before the President first hinted at the potential for action on copper.
Yesterday at a Senate hearing, Jonathan Pratt, the administration's senior official at the Bureau of African Affairs, discussed the administration's plan to secure minerals from Africa and lessen China's influence there. Pratt said the administration is working to implement a "whole of government approach" that includes federal financing, as well as frameworks for U.S. companies to work in Africa, like the minerals-for-security deal struck between the DRC and Rwanda.
And continuing to look at overseas minerals markets, the Gulf states are expanding their mineral through targeted acquisitions and international partnerships, as they look to take a piece of this very competitive global market, challenge China's minerals dominance and present themselves as alternative partners to Western nations. Although the Gulf States are marginal mineral producers, they are reportedly scaling up their influence through acquisitions, domestic initiatives (including EV and battery production as well as processing) and strategic partnerships.
That's your mining minute for this morning, highlighting some of the mining-related matters that are on our minds here in Washington and beyond. Follow us on the National Mining Association's channels, as well as on Minerals Make Life and Count on Coal, for more on the latest news and policies impacting mining.
