Mining Stocks Jump as Trump Slaps 50% Tariffs on Copper Imports

The Trump administration is slapping a tariff on imported copper in the near future. (Alessandro Cinque/Bloomberg)

Copper prices jumped to all-time highs after President Donald Trump said he was putting a 50% tariff on copper imports. Stocks of copper mining companies also rose.

“I believe the tariff on copper, we’re going to make it 50%,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday. He didn’t say when the tariffs might go into effect.

Copper futures surged 13.3% on the news, climbing by 66 cents a pound to a record high of $5.65, in the largest single-day dollar and percentage gain on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Comex Copper is up 12.2% this month, and 41.6% this year.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan, a Phoenix-based miner of copper, gold, and molybdenum, rose nearly 9% intraday, to $49.12, before moderating their gains. The stock closed up 2.5% at $46.47 on Tuesday.

Southern Copper Corp., another Phoenix company that develops, produces, and explores copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver, jumped 4.7% intraday to $109.40, before giving up its gains. The stock closed down 1.4% at $103.00.

The United States Copper Fund hit a record intraday high of $35, before moderating, and closed up 8.4% to $33.77. That was a record closing high and a 52-week high, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It had the biggest percentage gain since November 2022.

Copper, a key component of electrical systems and renewable-energy technology, is also critical for electric-vehicle batteries, power grids, solar panels, wind turbines, and artificial intelligence.

Trump in the same meeting also said he plans to impose “very high” tariffs of up to 200% on pharmaceuticals, saying he would give pharma companies up to a year and a half to bring their manufacturing into the U.S. before they go into effect.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com