July 31 (Reuters) - Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) on

Wednesday said it was "hopeful" the U.S. government would enact

policies that recognize the importance of domestic mining, in

what was the company's first reaction to President Donald

Trump's unexpectedly scaled-back copper tariff plan.

"Without a strong domestic mining sector, the U.S. will

remain heavily dependent on foreign sources for its copper, a

material critical to defense, infrastructure and technological

innovation," the Phoenix-based company said in a statement to

Reuters.