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Trump imposes tariffs on Brazil, South Korea, and copper

imports

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Copper prices drop 17% after tariff announcement

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Brazil says limits on 50% tariffs means 'not worst-case

scenario'

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South Korea sees lower 15% tariffs after $350 bln

investment

deal in U.S. projects

By Ernest Scheyder, David Shepardson, Gabriel Araujo and

Ju-min Park

July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on

Wednesday issued a blitz of tariff announcements ranging from

changes to previously threatened levies on imports of copper,

goods from Brazil and South Korea, to ending an exemption from

tariffs for small-value shipments from overseas.

The wave of announcements came as the clock ticked down

toward an August 1 deadline for higher U.S. tariff rates, as

Trump presses on with his bid to reshape global trade.

Capping a day that began with Trump announcing a 25% tariff rate

on goods from India, after months of negotiations between

Washington and New Delhi failed to produce a trade deal, Trump

said a 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring would kick in on

Friday.

Trump plans to sign new executive orders on Thursday

imposing higher tariff rates on several countries that have been

unable to reach negotiated trade deals with the United States,

Politico reported, citing a White House official.

Details of the copper levy fell short of the sweeping

restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such

as ores, concentrates and cathodes.

The surprise move dragged down U.S. copper prices more than 17%

on the Comex exchange and unwound a premium over the

London global benchmark that had grown in recent weeks,

with shipments diverted there in anticipation of higher domestic

prices.

"Markets are now busily repricing refined copper much lower

after Trump's epic backflip on his own import tariff policy,"

said Tom Price, an analyst at the London brokerage Panmure

Liberum. "Someone must have finally got through to (Trump) that

the U.S. economy simply can't afford this new trade-hit."

Trump first teased the copper tariff in early July, implying

that it would apply to all types of the red metal, ranging from

cathodes produced by mines and smelters to wiring and other

finished products.

Yet the proclamation released by the White House said the tariff

will apply only to pipes, tubes and other semi-finished copper

products, as well as products that copper is heavily used to

manufacture, including cable and electrical components.

The move aids manufacturers, but does little to boost the

constrained U.S. copper mining industry, which for years has

asked Washington for permitting reform or other steps that could

fuel growth. The move is essentially a boost for Chile and Peru,

two of the world's largest copper miners and major suppliers to

the United States.

BRAZIL 'NOT WORST-CASE SCENARIO'

Trump on Wednesday slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian goods

to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against former

President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding

sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from the

heavier levies.

That came as a relief for many in Brasilia, who since Trump

announced the tariffs had been urging protections for major

exporters caught in the crossfire. Shares of planemaker Embraer ( ERJ )

and pulpmaker Suzano rose.

"We're not facing the worst-case scenario," Brazilian

Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron told reporters. "It's a more

benign outcome than it could have been."

The new tariffs will go into effect on August 6, not August

1 as Trump announced originally.

SOUTH KOREA 'SHIPBUILDING DEAL'

Trump also announced the U.S. will charge a 15% tariff on

imports from South Korea as part of a deal that eases, for now,

tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally.

Imports from South Korea, a powerhouse exporter of computer

chips, cars and steel, had faced a 25% rate.

"I am pleased to announce that the United States of America

has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic

of Korea," Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met

with South Korean officials at the White House.

Trump said Seoul had agreed to invest $350 billion in the

United States in projects selected by him and to purchase $100

billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products.

South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol said on

Thursday that a shipbuilding partnership package dubbed "Make

America Shipbuilding Great Again" was key to the tariffs

agreement.

The shipbuilding partnership worth about $150 billion will

be led by South Korean shipbuilders to rebuild the U.S.

shipbuilding industry, Koo said.

The other $200 billion would include funds for chips,

nuclear power, batteries, and biologics, Kim Yong-beom, policy

chief from the South Korean presidential office, told a

briefing.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X that the

South Korean energy purchases would take place "over the next

3.5 years."

'DE MINIMIS'

The White House also said the United States is suspending a "de

minimis" exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments

to be shipped to the United States without tariffs.

Under Trump's order, packages valued at or under $800 sent

to the U.S. outside of the international postal network will now

face "all applicable duties" starting on August 29, the White

House said.

Trump earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong.

The tax-and-spending bill recently signed by Trump repealed the

legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on

July 1, 2027.

Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two

tariffs: either an "ad valorem duty" equal to the effective

tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six

months, a specific tariff of $80 to $200 depending on the

country of origin's tariff rate.