Perspectives on Remittance Flows in 2025

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

April 25, 2025

Why Is the U.S. Investigating Copper Imports?

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into whether copper imports threaten U.S. national security. Trucks at the Chuquicamata open-pit copper mine in Chile are pictured. // File Photo: NICOLA via Adobe Stock.

Q

The governments of Chile, Peru and Canada in mid-April objected to U.S. President Donald Trump’s ordering of an investigation into copper imports on the grounds that they could threaten U.S. security interests. In letters to the U.S. Commerce Department, the major copper exporters said their exports of the metal to the United States pose no such threat and should not face new duties. The three countries provide 94 percent of U.S. imports of refined copper and copper alloys, according to the Trade Data Monitor. What’s behind the Trump administration’s probe into copper imports? How could the results of the investigation lead to further changes in U.S. trade policy? How could a disruption in copper shipments to the United States affect the economies of Chile, Canada and Peru?

A

Jessica Bedoya, founding managing partner of the LARA Fund and former National Security Council deputy senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs (2018-2020): “It should come as no surprise that the Trump administration is looking at copper imports as part of its strategy to correct for the United States’ gross over reliance on foreign markets for critical materials. The real question is how to correct for it, and how to use this as an opportunity to strengthen North-South ties. The United States imported roughly $17 billion in copper products in 2024, mostly from Chile and Canada, with Peru and the Democratic Republic of the Congo following suit. However, the United States produces more than half of what it consumes. Imports, mostly from the Americas, fill the remainder…”

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