Copper floods US as traders try to get the jump on Trump tariffs, but ‘Taco’ trend looms

Spurred by US President Donald Trump’s proposed new tariffs on cathode imports, copper shipments from across the globe are flooding into the United States.

But analysts warn that should a so-called Taco scenario again unfold – as in, “Trump always chickens out” – copper prices in the US would likely fall in the short term.

IHS Markit shipping data showed that more than 200,000 tonnes of copper landed in the US last month – a 12‑year high for monthly inflows. This was said to have pushed the...