On 30 July 2025 President Trump signed Proclamation 10962, “Adjusting Imports of Copper Into the United States,” imposing a 50 percent ad valorem Section 232 duty on the copper content of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative articles, effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 1 August 2025.¹ Refined copper — copper cathode under HTSUS heading 7403 — is expressly excluded from the immediate duties; the proclamation instead contemplates phased duties on refined copper of 15 percent from 1 January 2027 and 30 percent from 1 January 2028, contingent on an update from the Secretary of Commerce due by 30 June 2026.¹² The proclamation follows a Commerce Department Section 232 investigation initiated pursuant to Executive Order 14220 of 25 February 2025, “Addressing the Threat to National Security From Imports of Copper,” directing the Secretary of Commerce to investigate the national-security effects of copper imports; the Commerce report recommending action was transmitted to the President on the statutory timeline under 19 U.S.C. § 1862(b)(3)(A) (270-day investigation ceiling), and presidential action followed under § 1862(c)(1) within the 90-day window for determination after receipt of the Commerce report.³⁴ Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2483, is the companion authority for conforming amendments to the Harmonised Tariff Schedule.⁵ The proclamation is the originating § 232 copper instrument and runs in parallel with the existing § 232 steel and aluminum regimes under Proclamations 9704 and 9705 of 8 March 2018 (as amended).⁶

1. The covered articles are semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative articles drawn from HTSUS Chapter 74 and listed in the proclamation Annex; U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects under HTSUS Chapter 99 subchapter III subheadings 9903.78.01 (50 percent on the value of the copper content) and 9903.78.02 (0 percent on the non-copper content), with two-line entry reporting under CBP Cargo Systems Messaging Service Bulletin CSMS

   65794272 of 31 July 2025.⁷⁸

   The proclamation contains no exception for goods already in transit at the 1 August 2025 effective moment; duty drawback is expressly barred, and covered merchandise admitted to foreign trade zones must enter under privileged foreign status.⁸

2. The duty applies to all countries: the proclamation contains no country-specific exemptions, tariff-rate quotas or bilateral framework arrangements for copper, and no USMCA-specific treatment.¹ Executive Order 14289 of 29 April 2025 establishes anti-stacking precedence for a closed set of five enumerated actions including § 232 steel and § 232 aluminum; the new § 232 copper regime falls outside the EO 14289 closed set and stacks cumulatively with the IEEPA-fentanyl tariff under EO 14195 (China), the IEEPA reciprocal regime under EO 14257 as amended, the § 301 China duties under USTR’s 2018-2024 list actions, and the MFN column-1 rate — except that the copper duties do not apply to products already subject to the § 232 automobile tariffs.⁹¹⁰

3. The 50 percent ad valorem duty applies to the value of the copper content of the covered article, reported as a separate entry line; importers liable for unpaid duties or incorrect origin or content certifications are subject to penalties under 19 U.S.C. § 1592 (with the § 1592(c) penalty schedule graduated by mental state: intentional fraud up to the domestic value; gross negligence up to four times the lawful duty loss; negligence up to two times the lawful duty loss), administered under 19 C.F.R. Part 171 mitigation guidelines.¹¹ Reverse false claims liability for knowing concealment of customs-duty obligations attaches under 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1)(G) of the False Claims Act.¹² Principal supplier countries — Chile, Peru, Mexico and Canada (per the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries on copper imports) — carry the largest exposure to the semi-finished and derivative duties; the refined-copper exclusion produced an immediate repricing in the copper futures market, which had priced in duties on cathode imports.¹³