Chile, Mexico look to new markets ahead of Trump copper tariffs

By Daina Beth Solomon, Fabian Cambero and Ana Isabel Martinez

SANTIAGO/MEXICO CITY, July 9 (Reuters) - Top officials in Chile and Mexico said on Wednesday they could seek markets elsewhere to avoid tariffs from the Trump administration, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would soon announce a 50% tariff on the red metal.

Mexico and Chile export the bulk of their copper to China.

"Chilean copper will keep finding new markets," Chilean Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren told a press conference, after President Gabriel Boric said earlier in the day that he had yet to hear from the U.S. and called for official communication.

"Clearly these measures worry us," van Klaveren added, pointing to market uncertainty on global supply flows.

"The U.S. is going to keep needing copper because the U.S. doesn't have the capacity to replace the copper it imports from Chile and other countries," he told the conference.

Chile is the single biggest copper supplier to the U.S., a market that makes up about 11% of its total copper exports, and less than 7% of its refined copper exports.

Boric said he was awaiting official communication from the U.S. government, including whether the tariffs would include copper cathodes, and questioned "whether this will actually be implemented or not."

Chile's Mining Minister Aurora Williams told Reuters it was too early to say whether Chile would request an exemption.

Copper imports account for nearly half of the metal consumed in the United States, whose government is seeking to build up domestic production. Chile is the United States' top refined copper supplier, while Mexico ranks fifth.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a morning press conference that Mexico could redirect the copper it typically sends to the U.S. to avoid tariffs. She noted that Mexican officials would be in Washington on Friday for previously planned talks on trade, security and immigration.

"Copper is needed in many places around the world, so there are some options there," she said in her daily press conference in Mexico City.

"Our responsibility is to seek the best possible negotiation with the U.S. and at the same time look for other options for national production and exports to other destinations."

Copper is considered an economic bellwether commodity due to its widespread use across construction and infrastructure sectors.

The news is likely to set off a scramble to ship copper into the United States before tariffs go into effect, expected by the end of July or August 1.