Ottawa Promises to ‘Fight Against’ Proposed US Copper Tariff

A worker checks copper cables being produced at a factory in the central Anatolian city of Kayseri on Feb. 12, 2015. Umit Bektas/Reuters

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will “fight against” a proposed 50 percent tariff on all copper imports coming into the United States.

The new tariff, announced July 9 by U.S. President Donald Trump, is set to take effect on Aug. 1, potentially having a considerable negative impact on Canadian copper producers, as over half of Canada’s copper exports go to the United States, according to the last available trade figures.