A source familiar with the matter: The White House’s copper tariff plan has stalled.

According to a Reuters report, two people familiar with the matter said the White House has not yet made a decision on refined copper tariffs. Officials are weighing the potential downsides of rising copper prices pushing up manufacturing costs against the benefits of encouraging domestic mining. This hesitation comes as the administration increasingly focuses on affordability ahead of the November midterm elections, with Trump and Republican lawmakers facing pressure to prove their economic policies are lowering rather than raising costs for U.S. consumers and businesses. Due to expectations that Trump will impose tariffs on refined copper products such as cathode copper and mine-produced copper concentrates, copper prices have surged to record highs. Traders and industrial buyers are scrambling to build up inventories in the U.S. to stockpile ahead of any new tariffs, forming one of the world’s largest copper stockpiles. A White House official stated that the administration has not made a final decision on the tariffs, and confirmed the Commerce Department submitted an update to Trump by the June 30 deadline set by the White House. The official said: "The administration continues to evaluate all options to bring copper and other critical manufacturing back to the U.S." These remarks indicate the tariffs are not a done deal, despite market expectations that the U.S. may expand existing tariffs to cover refined copper.