Peru Sends Team to U.S. to Discuss Tariffs

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump is now raising alarms among Latin American copper producers. In recent days, Chilean President Gabriel Boric said that his country is studying a possible copper tariff scenario to mitigate any impacts. Meanwhile, Peru's minister of mines, Jorge Montero, highlighted that they are preparing to negotiate with Washington.

In a press conference in Lima, Montero told journalists that Peru is preparing to send a delegation to the United States amid recent threats of possible copper tariffs.

"With the new U.S. administration, we are preparing a delegation that will visit senior officials in the United States to discuss these issues and avoid being implicated or harmed by any restrictive measures that may be implemented based on U.S. interests. We have to clearly explain what we want to do in Peru and what we are doing in the country," said Montero according to information published by the local newspaper Gestion.

Washington has recently imposed tariffs on countries such as Mexico, Canada and China as markets fear a global tariff war escalation.

In February, Trump signed an executive order to investigate the national copper industry and consider copper tariffs in response to protect local production.

This has pushed South American governments to study ways to shield their industries from possible copper tariff scenarios, though neither Peru nor Chile have been directly threatened.

Peru is the world's third-largest copper producer, after Chile and Congo. Last year, Peru had an output of 2.7 million tons of copper, which was flat compared to 2023 volumes.

China was by far the largest recipient of Peruvian copper between January and November 2024, accounting for 72.5% of the exports, followed by Japan and South Korea with 7.1% and 2.4%, respectively. The United States came in fourth place with 2.4% of the exports.

The South American nation hopes to grab back the spot for the world's second-largest copper miner with the continuous development of the industry.

Currently, the country has an active mining portfolio of 68 projects, with opportunities in multiple minerals.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).

Recently, Montero travelled for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, where he promoted his nation's mining industry in the hopes of attracting new exploration and production investments.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).