Copper now costs way more in the U.S. than elsewhere. This could hit its economy hard

Officials announced potential 50% import tariffs on the metal

Copper has been flooding into the U

From Europe and Asia this year on expectations of higher duties

The huge discrepancy in U

Prices compared to those elsewhere is expected to have a major economic impact, analysts told CNBC

Close up of electrical engineer inspecting copper windings in an electrical engineering factory

Monty Rakusen | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesThe cost of copper for U

Buyers has rocketed after President Donald Trump said he would impose a 50% tariff on imports of the metal

It means that already elevated prices are now even higher in the U

Than elsewhere — and analysts warned of a hit to es and the wider U

Imports just under half of its copper, which is used in ducts ranging from machinery, electronics and household goods to housing and infrastructure jects

Trump's stated ambition is to increase domestic duction, but experts say this will take years to ramp up and decades to fully meet demand — at a massive up-front investment cost

Traders have been poised for a presidential announcement on copper duties since February, leading to major shifts in inventories away from Europe and Asia and into the U

However, the rate and timing was un — and market participants say they remain so, given the ambiguity in official messaging this week, potential room for exemptions to be negotiated, and recent examples of swift policy changes from the White House

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC Tuesday the duties would ly be implemented at "the end of July, maybe August 1

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), the global benchmark, prices rose just 0

It's a reflection of the unusually wide premium that's between U

Copper and the metal elsewhere

Prices remain elevated despite larger-than-usual inventories, the gap in U

Comex futures over those on the LME has fluctuated between $500 and $1,500 since Trump announced a be into copper in February

Prices on the Shanghai Metals Market, meanwhile, have been similar to those on the LME

On Tuesday, the Comex-LME price premium soared by 138%, moving above $2,600 a tonne, according to London-based agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

By August, Benchmark said that U

This huge discrepancy will start to have a major economic impact, Daan de Jonge, Benchmark's lead analyst for copper demand and prices, told CNBC. "On household spending, if you're buying a new fridge, air conditioner, car, everything is going to get more expensive, and companies could reasonably be expected to pass that on," he said

Depending on the final baseline tariff rates, U

Consumers could opt to buy goods duced more cheaply abroad due to that impact. "If we're looking at public investment, U

Debt has got more expensive, the dollar is declining, and now you're getting a major raw material cost increase for infrastructure investments

I'd expect that to start showing employment effects. "watch now3:4603:46Trump broadens trade war: who will pay for it

Squawk Box AsiaAnother side effect may be that jects start to swap copper for cheaper aluminum, which in some cases can be used as a replacement, though it is heavier and more expensive to maintain in the long run, de Jonge said. "All of this definitely enters the risk range of demand destruction," he noted. 'Watershed moment'Obstacles to increasing domestic duction include longstanding permitting delays for mining jects and the huge cost of opening new facilities, which would rely on current market dynamics persisting long into the future. "The question is, can America substitute imported ducts with domestically-made ducts, and how quickly. " Peter Chase, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said Wednesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe. " Major sources of U

Copper include Chile, Canada, Peru and Mexico. "There's a reality that has to be dealt with, and the price of copper with a 50% tariff is not going to mean copper duction in the U

Goes through the roof tomorrow. "Chase said U

Consumers and es will feel an immediate impact, and it will ly hit the U. 's AI infrastructure build-out plans

Analysts at Citi, meanwhile, called Tuesday a "watershed moment for the copper market in 2025. ""Imminent flagged tariff implementation should abruptly close the window for further significant U. -bound copper shipments (possibly for the rest of 2025)," they said in a Wednesday note, saying this would cause a pullback in ex-U

Inventory build-up and the lihood of key U

Copper exporters eventually negotiating a lower rate — another possibility still hanging over the market.