Before I begin, I want to remind you I’ve been open-minded about The Donald’s tariff plans. But this one… this one is sheer lunacy.

Yesterday, The Donald swaggered into a cabinet meeting and did what he does best: broke out a bazooka where a screwdriver would’ve done the job. This time, he mentioned that he’ll impose a 50% tariff on all copper imports.

Copper rose by over 10% at one point yesterday and remains 8% higher today.

Nothing says “Let’s build new infrastructure” like tripling the cost of the stuff that wires, powers, and plumbs the entire economy.

This wasn’t some offhand tweet. It was a full-throated, presidential decree during a press conference to bring copper production back home, as if molten smelting and electrolytic refining are just waiting for revival in the Rust Belt, right between the Waffle House and the local gun range.

Let’s unpack the madness. Because when you tariff the one metal required in every wire, motor, pipe, and power line in your society, don’t be surprised when costs explode and your economy shorts out.

Copper Isn’t Just Another Metal

You can think of copper as the infrastructure’s bloodstream. It’s what lets electricity flow through your house, your office, your electric car, and even your toaster oven. Approximately 60% of copper use is allocated to electrical applications. The rest? Pipes, roofing, electronics, motors, machinery, transportation, and even hospital surfaces (yep, it kills germs too).

And now, all of that just got 50% more expensive.

In response to Trump’s announcement, copper prices spiked faster than a meme stock on r/WallStreetBets. At one point yesterday, New York copper futures soared 13% above global benchmarks. Some contracts are up 25% since the announcement, not because of demand, but because the USG just set the supply chain on fire and called it patriotism.

It’s like torching a forest and then blaming lumber prices for being “unfair.”

Let’s Do Some Math

Trump says this tariff will bring jobs back. But here’s the fine print:

America doesn’t mine or refine nearly enough copper to meet demand. The U.S. imported over 40% of its refined copper last year, mainly from Canada, Chile, and Mexico.

So, if you’re an American company that builds electric vehicles, wind turbines, hospitals, houses, phones, semiconductors, or bridges, you just got hit with a massive tax on your essential inputs.

The tariff hits you. Not China.

You know who loves this? Chile and Canada’s competitors (ahem, China) have just seen U.S. buyers panic-buy and drive global prices higher.

Trump Delivers Right Cross to Elon

There’s a part of me that thinks Trump is doing this just to hurt Elon. Maybe not entirely… or even primarily… but maybe as a bonus.

Why? Because EVs use 3x to 4x more copper than internal combustion vehicles. Solar panels, battery storage systems, and wind farms all need copper wiring, inverters, and cooling systems. So if you want to “Make America Great Again,” or simply build Teslas, you’d better start with affordable copper.

Otherwise, you’ll spend so much on your wiring that you won’t have anything left to power it.

And speaking of EVs, check out this table on copper usage and tariff fallout.

The Inflation You Ordered Has Arrived

The copper tariff isn’t a surgical strike. It’s a blowtorch to the entire U.S. supply chain. If the price of copper goes up, the cost of everything goes up: buildings, electronics, transportation, utilities, and consumer goods, such as refrigerators and phones.

The kindling of inflation, meet gasoline.

Now imagine Trump walking into Jay Powell’s office at the Fed and telling him to cut rates when construction costs are ballooning and the housing market is seizing up. Or tell the Department of Energy to electrify everything, while the cost of wiring an apartment building has doubled.

Good luck with that.

Short-Term Pain, No Long-Term Gain

There’s no denying China manipulates markets. Or that U.S. manufacturing needs a renaissance. However, this tariff is a blunt instrument, especially when it penalizes your manufacturers more harshly than foreign competition.

China has long-term copper contracts, internal subsidies, and domestic refining capacity. America has… Wall Street, quarterly earnings, and a fantasy that tariffs alone can revive industries offshored 30 years ago.

You want domestic copper? Fine. Try getting environmental approval for a new mine in Arizona. Good luck. Between the EPA, local protests, and the Bureau of Land Management, you’ll be lucky to break ground by 2032.

Meanwhile, your factories are expected to run out of copper next month.

My good friend and hedge fund manager, H, said to me, “If Trump was serious about bringing manufacturing to the US, then all he needed to do was CUT regulations and red tape. Let businesses just get on with it.”

Here’s the Real Risk

If you make copper too expensive to import, and it’s already too bureaucratic to produce locally, you’re setting yourself up for a supply shock. That means fewer jobs, more inflation, and less investment, not more.

What happens when Tesla or Ford decides to shift EV production abroad to access cheaper copper and avoid tariffs? Will he call Elon an immigrant traitor? What about William Clay Ford, Jr.?

What happens when homebuilders stall new housing developments because plumbing and wiring costs just jumped 30%?

That’s not reshoring. It’s exporting prosperity.

Wrap Up

Trump’s 50% copper tariff is a shiny political gesture. But copper isn’t just some commodity you can bully with an X post. It’s the beating heart of the industrial and digital economy. You can’t MAGA your way around metallurgy.

If you want to rebuild America, you’d better start with the basics. And nothing’s more basic—or more vital—than copper.

Tariffing it into oblivion isn’t a strength. It’s sabotage.

Next time you flip a switch, remember: the electricity only flows because copper allows it to do so. You can’t argue with physics. Not even on Truth Social.