A view of copper coils. Credit: Adobe Stock photo by Parilov.
Potential US tariffs on copper will only serve to drive up prices for consumers because domestic producers won’t be able to make up the shortfall, the former CEO of Chilean mining giant Codelco says.
Implementing such a measure as part of protectionist policies to boost domestic copper production would not be beneficial for the US, Marcos Lima, Codelco’s former CEO, said Friday. Lima is a founding partner at the CIS Consultores consultancy in Santiago.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that launches a so-called Section 232 review into copper imports. Section 232 investigations are called to determine the effects of any imports on US national security.
“The only thing that will happen is that the price of copper in the United States will rise,” Lima said Friday via email. “It’s impossible for the…
