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There’s arguably no better time in Minnesota than our July summers, so you very well might have missed some news out of Washington, D.C., last week that carries a lot of weight for us here in Minnesota. Right after the Fourth of July weekend, we learned of plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imported into the United States. With this announcement, a bright spotlight is now shining on how we use copper, where we get it from and why we Minnesotans should care.
Bottom line, this announcement has brought to light a crisis facing our nation, and that is just how swiftly the supply chain for critical minerals can be compromised and what it means for the U.S. to unleash the American miner and responsibly onshore these efforts.
Copper is needed for an array of items that we use every day, including our cars, our phones and our computers. It carries our electricity and is used in lifesaving medical technologies. But we also depend on it to build the future that we envision for future generations of Minnesotans.
I am someone who believes that we need to treasure our environment and make sure we are responsible consumers of our products and energy so that my children can continue to enjoy this beautiful state as much as I do. That means I have to think about how functionally we can achieve that goal. Copper is indispensable for our clean energy future, including electric vehicles, solar, wind and grid upgrades — all of which are essential for Minnesota’s ability to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. We can’t transition to clean energy without a reliable and affordable supply chain of copper.
I also believe that a reliable, affordable housing supply is good for the well-being of my neighbors and my community, and an important piece of the American dream that my grandfather sought when he worked at the historic Erie Taconite Mine on the Iron Range, and where I later on followed in his footsteps when the operation became LTV Steel (now the site of NewRange Copper Nickel). Turns out, on average, each new single-family home requires 2,100 square feet and around 439 pounds of copper. Everything from wiring, plumbing and HVAC systems all rely on copper. For these reasons, we cannot solve a domestic housing supply crisis with a foreign supply chain.
We know we need copper, but where do we get it from? Currently, copper supply chains are dominated by foreign powers, especially China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So we are dependent on foreign nations with long histories of humanitarian and environmental abuses to access an important material that we as Americans and Minnesotans access every day. Yet, here in Minnesota, we have an abundance of undeveloped copper. We are fortunate to be able to mine in a way that protects the environment and ensures respect for workers and communities. Mining companies in our state are held accountable — unlike other places in the world — including undergoing inspections, community and regulatory oversight, and legal recourse for worker mistreatment. We have stringent environmental standards and regulatory agencies that take their jobs seriously to protect the environment. It might be unpleasant to think about when plugging in our electric vehicle, but choosing not to mine here doesn’t stop mining, it just outsources it to places where workers risk death and danger with no protections. We can’t wash our hands of that reality.
