Trump reverses Biden's rules on copper smelters

The U.S. president Donald Trump reversed on Friday a Biden-era rule on air pollution that had set stricter limits for emissions from copper smelters.

Under updated federal air standards, the copper rule finalized in 2024 required smelters reduce pollutants such as lead, mercury, arsenic and dioxins.

The White House says that Trump's proclamation will help to promote American mineral security, by reducing the regulatory burden on domestic copper producers.

The White House announced the changes by saying that "imposing these requirements on a limited, already stressed domestic industry could lead to further closures and weaken the Nation's Industrial Base, undermine mineral independence and increase reliance on foreign controlled processing capacity."

The U.S. has two copper smelters currently, one in Arizona and another in Utah.

Freeport-McMoRan, Rio Tinto and the other copper smelters in the U.S. were not available for comment.

Trump signed an Executive Order earlier this year that identified the copper as a material critical for defense, infrastructure, and emerging technologies including clean energy, electric vehicles, and other emerging technologies.

This led to a Section 232 inquiry to determine whether imports of copper threaten U.S. National Security, especially due to the dependence on a few foreign suppliers.

After the review, the Administration imposed a tariff of 50% on certain imported copper. It also mandated an increase in the percentage of scrap copper that is produced in the U.S.

(source: Reuters)