President Donald Trump has made it clear that he is concerned about the United States’ dependence on foreign countries for much of its copper and is looking to boost domestic mining of the metal, but his efforts are likely to feed inflation and take years to reap rewards.

President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry's biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper. From talk of acquiring Greenland and its vast mineral wealth to prodding Ukraine for minerals in exchange for help fending off Russia's invasion,

"American industries depend on copper, and it should be made in America, no exemptions, no exceptions," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

President Donald Trump opened yet another front on Tuesday in his assault on global trade norms, ordering a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports to rebuild U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles,

President Donald Trump on Tuesday directed the government to consider possible tariffs on copper, the latest move by the White House to tax a wide array of imports and reshape global trade. “It will have a big impact,

Tariffs, if they are imposed, could boost U.S. production of a valuable resource but also raise costs for automakers, construction companies and others.

An executive order calls for boosting the domestic industry by investigating the national security implications of imports and weighing tariffs.

It could mean a new day for U.S. copper mining, and new worries for environmental groups that are contesting proposals such as the stalled Twin Metals project near northern Minnesota's Boundary Waters,

On Feb. 25, the White House announced it will launch an investigation into the importation of copper under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.

Countries are exploring possible deals with the United States to ease tariff rates, which the US treasury secretary said this week were a crucial part of Donald Trump's economic policy, as the president suddenly ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports that looks to have China in its sights.