Reference News Network, July 10 - According to AFP, on July 8, the actions of US President Donald Trump on Tuesday showed that he does not want to ease his tariff policies. He claimed to be planning new tariffs, this time targeting imported medicines and copper.

At a cabinet meeting, when answering questions from reporters, Trump said he was prepared to impose a 200% tariff on imported medicines. He said it might take at least a year before implementing it, giving companies time to build factories in the United States. For imported copper, a 50% tariff may be imposed, although he did not specify an exact start date.

Subsequently, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced on CNBC that the tariff on copper could begin soon, as early as "end of July or August 1st". This trend has already prompted investors to buy copper aggressively, pushing the price to a historical high of over $5.5 per pound. The Wall Street stock market closed with a slight decline, indicating that investors had not reacted excessively.

Since January, after returning to the White House, Trump has made tariffs a core part of his economic policy: it is a negotiation tool to gain concessions from other countries, a way to revitalize American manufacturing, or a source of additional government revenue. He has already imposed special tariffs on certain areas (50% for steel and aluminum, 25% for cars), and imposes a 10% tariff on most other products entering the United States.

Regarding the tariffs that may begin on August 1st, Trump believes they are intended to further punish dozens of countries that still have trade deficits with the United States.

According to Bloomberg News website on July 9, after US President Trump stated his plan to impose a 50% tariff on imported copper, New York copper futures prices surged. Trump's move could trigger significant fluctuations in the global metal market supply chain.

On Tuesday, the price of copper futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as much as 17%, setting a record for the largest single-day increase. Currently, the premium of the New York copper price over the London copper price is 25%, reaching an unprecedented level.

The price of New York copper once touched a historical high of $5.8955 per pound, and finally closed at $5.6855 per pound.

If the tariffs come into effect, it is expected to lead to increased costs in many areas of the US economy, as numerous industries and applications rely on copper. Copper is widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, housing construction, and data centers.

Bloomberg News website also reported on July 9 that the US President Trump's plan to impose high tariffs on imported copper has caused a surge in costs for US factories. On Tuesday, the price of New York copper trading was 25% higher than other global benchmarks.

Trump first threatened to impose targeted tariffs on this key industrial metal in February this year.

A 50% tariff would be equivalent to the tariffs Trump previously imposed on steel and aluminum to revitalize American manufacturing. However, this would be particularly burdensome for US factories, as nearly half of their copper purchases depend on overseas suppliers.

US copper buyers have warned about the long-term threats posed by these tariffs, saying they could damage Trump's core goals of revitalizing manufacturing and challenging China's industrial strength.

A representative of the largest US copper importer, Southern Wire Company, submitted written comments to the US Department of Commerce in April, stating, "Any restrictions on the import of US cathode copper would only redirect copper supplies to China." The US Department of Commerce had previously conducted an investigation at Trump's request on whether to impose tariffs on copper.

He also said, "Meanwhile, US copper producers will face serious supply shortages, especially in the short and medium term, as US copper production growth is not sufficient to fill the supply gap." (Translated by Lu Longjun, Zhang Lin)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7525429690950058506/

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