Peru prepares US delegation in bid to avert copper tariffs

World No. 3 copper supplier Peru will send a delegation to meet with US officials after the Trump administration announced plans to introduce copper tariffs that threaten to disrupt metal trade flows.

“The rules of the game are changing quickly under the new North American administration,” Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Montero told reporters in Lima on Monday. Peru is looking to “avoid being hurt by certain restrictive measures that will be implemented due to US interests.”

Governments and industries around the world are grappling with the likely ramifications of tariffs as President Donald Trump looks to revitalize US manufacturing, raise revenue and gain leverage in other disputes.

Export-dependent nations such as Peru and Chile are banking on their trade deficits and free-trade agreements with the US as reasons to escape tariffs, as well as the fact that American buyers depend on imported copper for about half their requirements.

Trump first mentioned copper as a trade-war tool in late January. Late last month, the president ordered a probe into possible tariffs on national security grounds — offering the industry some relief since such investigations typically take months. That relief proved short-lived when Trump raised the idea of copper tariffs again last week.

Peru, the world’s No. 3 copper supplier, sends some of its metal to the US, although the majority is shipped in semi-processed form to smelters in China. US producer Freeport-McMoRan Inc. owns Cerro Verde, one of Peru’s largest mines mines. Chile is more exposed, with state-owned Codelco the biggest shipper of copper to the US.

Montero didn’t discuss other Peruvian products that could also be impacted by US tariffs such as blueberries and table grapes.

“Peru is a good strategic ally for the US on business issues, but not just for the US,” Montero said. “Peru is a non-aligned country, one that’s open to investments and business with everyone. We are not committed to a particular geopolitical vision.”

(By Marcelo Rochabrun and James Attwood)

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