From your phone to your fridge, copper is everywhere, and now, it’s a lot more expensive.
On Tuesday, U.S. copper futures surged more than 13% after President Trump signaled plans to impose a 50% tariff on imported copper. It marked the largest single-day spike in copper prices since 1968.
At CMC Supply, a plumbing supply company that’s served the Roanoke Valley for nearly five decades, copper parts are critical for both residential and commercial projects. Owner, Steve Chisholm, says the price hikes are already rolling in, although tariffs have not taken effect yet.
“Today we had an announcement of copper fittings going up 8% on Monday,” Chisholm said. “Those things are coming across our desk every week.”
He also says unpredictable tariffs make it tough to plan.
“You try to buy as smart as you can without overstocking,” he said. “But if you load up on inventory and the tariff doesn’t go through and the price drops, then you’ve got another issue.”
Copper is a core material in everything from cars and computers to power grids and plumbing. While the U.S. has domestic copper reserves, nearly half of what it consumes is imported, mostly from Chile, Canada, and Peru.
Chisholm says he prefers to buy American-made materials, when the price is right.
“We try to buy as many domestic products as we can, but we still have to be competitive,” he said. “And if a product is cheaper for us to go to market with that’s imported and still has the quality, that’s what we buy.”
The ripple effects aren’t limited to plumbing and construction. Artist and Custom Originals in Stained Glass store owner, Kathy Sue Hudson, says copper is essential for her stained-glass work. She says copper is used for everything from the foil that holds stained-glass pieces together to the framing that displays the finished designs.
“It was very discouraging,” Hudson said, recalling the moment she heard about the potential tariff. “We just keep taking the hits. It was a major problem with the crash in 2008 and then COVID happened, and these last three years have been the best I’ve had since before 2008. And now we’re feeling it again. That’s the whole disaster about tariffs. It’s the little guys that end up paying for it.”
Hudson says she hasn’t yet placed a new copper order yet, as she is holding on until her current supply runs out.
“What has kept us afloat is restoration and repair, “Hudson said. She says it is 50% of her business.
The new tariff could take effect as early as late July or August 1. But with uncertainty around exemptions and global supply shifts, the market, and many small business owners, remain in limbo.