The copper tariff began with a Section 232 investigation, the national security provision of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Commerce investigated copper imports and found global excess capacity, declining domestic production, and dependence on foreign sources, with a single country controlling over 50 percent of global copper smelting capacity and four of the five largest refining facilities. The President proclaimed a 50 percent tariff on all imports of semi-finished copper products and intensive copper derivative products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern on August 1, 2025.
The original duty was charged on the copper content of the imported goods, not the full value. That distinction mattered: a finished product with a small copper component paid 50 percent on the copper's value only. The proclamation also invoked the Defense Production Act for copper input materials and high-quality copper scrap, and it excluded products already covered by the Section 232 auto tariffs. The scope list came in an annex to the Federal Register notice, and importers who did not check the annex did not know whether their product was in scope at all.
On April 6, 2026, the metals regime was rebuilt. The Section 232 duties moved from the metal content to the full customs value of the imported product, regardless of metal content. The products were sorted into annexes: Annex I-A, aluminum and steel articles, most copper articles, and certain derivatives, at 50 percent under 9903.82.02; Annex I-B, copper articles and other derivatives, at 25 percent under 9903.82.09; and Annex III at a temporary 15 percent combined rate through December 31, 2027. The United Kingdom got reduced rates, 25 percent for I-A and 15 percent for I-B.
The change from content value to full value is the part that caught importers off guard. A product that used to pay 50 percent on its copper content now pays 50 percent on everything: the steel, the plastic, the assembly, the packaging. The duty base tripled or more for products where copper was a small share of the value. The annex assignment, not the headline rate, is now the question that decides what an entry costs, and the annex turns on classification, which turns on the product's actual composition.
One piece of the copper action remains unsettled. The original proclamation asked Commerce for an update by June 30, 2026, on whether to phase in a 15 percent duty on refined copper from January 1, 2027, and 30 percent from January 1, 2028. As of October 5, 2026, no proclamation had acted on that recommendation, so the phased refined-copper duty is a published possibility, not a live rate.
Importers of refined copper should plan for both outcomes. If the phased duty lands, the cost of refined copper imports steps up in January 2027 and again in January 2028. If it does not, the current regime stands. Either way, the entry that matters is the one filed on the effective date, and the rate that applies is the one in force that morning. Watch the proclamations, not the press coverage: the Federal Register notice is the only source that changes what you owe.
Keep reading: Section 232 Steel Tariffs: What Counts as Steel Content, Antidumping Duties: How Commerce Sets the Rate.
August 1, 2025. A proclamation issued June 30, 2025 imposed a 50 percent tariff on semi-finished copper products and intensive copper derivative products, effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on August 1. The proclamation followed a Section 232 investigation that found global excess capacity and a single country controlling over 50 percent of global copper smelting capacity.
Annex I-A covers aluminum and steel articles, most copper articles, and certain derivatives, at 50 percent. Annex I-B covers copper articles and other aluminum and steel derivatives at 25 percent. Annex III carries a temporary 15 percent combined rate through December 31, 2027. The annex is decided by the product's classification, not by the importer's preference.
No. The copper proclamation excludes products already covered under Section 232 automotive duties: only the auto tariff applies where both would hit. Stacking is the question to ask on every metals entry, because the Section 232 duties, Section 301 duties, and antidumping duties can all apply to the same product, and the total is what the importer actually pays.
The metals duties live in HTSUS headings 9903.82.01 through 9903.82.26. Annex I-A goods generally fall under 9903.82.02 at 50 percent; Annex I-B under 9903.82.09 at 25 percent. The entry has to carry both the chapter 73, 74, or 76 classification for the product itself and the 9903 line for the Section 232 duty.