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Billionaire mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland welcomed US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, arguing that home manufacturing of the metallic was “fundamental to America’s national security”.
Analysts and different executives have questioned the logic of imposing such a excessive levy when the US remained so depending on imports of the metallic, however the founding father of Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines stated the transfer was wanted to “wake people up” to America’s vulnerability.
“There’s a new list of critical raw materials and without it, you can’t do anything about global warming or greening the world economy and you have a critical vulnerability in national security,” business veteran Friedland advised the Monetary Occasions.
“I commend the Trump administration for doing what’s obvious and intelligent — America needs to produce the metal,” he stated.
Copper has flowed into the US this 12 months on expectations that Trump would ultimately goal imports. Consequently, US costs for the metallic had been down barely on Wednesday after the announcement at $5.53 a pound, however that was nonetheless a 28 per cent premium to the worldwide benchmark worth in London.
Friedland, 74, dismissed any market response as “irrelevant”. “What’s really going on here is that the US wants the metal to be produced in the US, refined [in the US] — and not just copper. Copper is paradigm for probably 30 critical metals.”
As arguably one of the best recognized North American mining govt and one who additionally maintains robust ties with China and Saudi Arabia, Friedland has consulted with completely different US administrations on mining points. In Might he was amongst executives who met Trump and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman through the US president’s go to to Riyadh.
Friedland declined to touch upon any discussions with US officers however praised Trump’s stance in direction of the mining sector.
“This administration is a massive breath of fresh air” for the business, he stated. “The miners have been beaten with the ugly stick for 50 years, as if mining were an elemental sin, and yet everybody wants an electric car or a microwave oven or a washing machine.”
Trump’s inside secretary Doug Burgum advised mining firms in March that he wished them to “mine, baby, mine” as a part of an effort to interrupt US dependence on imports of metals from China.
The administration has since moved to hurry up allowing processes for sure tasks together with Rio Tinto’s long-delayed Decision copper mine in Arizona.
Friedland’s US-focused Ivanhoe Electrical additionally plans to develop a copper mine in Arizona known as Santa Cruz.
Elevated home manufacturing will cut back US dependence on imports and likewise make sure the US army has safe entry to the copper wanted for ammunition and {hardware} throughout what many analysts count on to be a interval of elevated army spending worldwide, Friedland stated.
“We’re going from a just-in-time integrated world economy . . . to a just-in-case world economy and the administration raising tariffs on critical raw materials is a just-in-case move,” he added. “Just in case we have a war, we have to have enough raw material to deal with it.”
