Copper ETFs: From Tariffs to Technology

Copper ETFs have seen a surge in investor popularity, driven by geopolitical tensions and recent tariff-related news. President Trump declared a 50% tariff on copper. This sparked higher futures prices and potential supply/demand imbalances that could benefit copper miners. But aside from recent price spikes, copper also has some long-term strength due to its role in electricity generation, manufacturing, and technology — higher growth areas that offer stability throughout economic cycles. This note offers an overview of copper and several copper ETFs.Tariff impacts boost copper pricesThe Trump administration has proposed a 50% tariff on copper beginning on August 1, with the goal of relying less on copper imports and bringing copper mining back to America. There are several mines that have been ramping up with the U.S. that could benefit — for instance, Ivanhoe Electric (IE) plans to finish a new mine in Arizona by 2028. According to the USGS, even though the U.S. is the world’s fifth largest copper producer, it still has a net import reliance as a percentage of consumption of 45% (as of 2024), with imports coming from countries like Canada, Chile, and Peru. Prices have surged around 35% YTD due to potential supply/demand imbalances. This has sweeping effects across all copper ETFs, including futures-based copper ETFs and copper mining equity ETFs. Copper miners sell copper based on these prices and are more leveraged to the price of copper (when copper prices are up, copper miners do even better; when copper prices are down, copper miners do even worse). Some large companies in the space include Freeport McMoRan (FCX), First Quantum Minerals (FM CN), and Antofagasta (ANTO LN). Freeport McMoRan is the largest U.S. copper producer (about 60% of U.S. output) and could benefit significantly from the new tariff policy.Long-term tailwinds persistAs I discussed in previous notes (silver ETFs and platinum ETFs), commodities in general have been a bright spot this year as investors have started prioritizing portfolio diversifiers. Copper has long-term tailwinds related to new technology and infrastructure. Therefore, global copper miners could also continue to benefit despite tariffs, while serving as a thematic play representing the clean energy transition and other disruptive technology. According to the International Copper Association, copper is used in a wide range of infrastructure, medical devices, manufacturing, and technology. It is used in essential everyday objects like cars, laptops, and smartphones in addition to “next-gen infrastructure” like electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Because of its essential use cases, copper demand has been relatively stable. This has caused copper prices to steadily increase as some supply imbalances persist. Those supply balances may prove to be even higher over the next few years. particularly as manufacturers and other copper users shift supply chains.Copper ETFsThese ETFs offer exposure to the metal through a variety of strategies. United States Copper Index Fund (CPER A-) is the only ETF that consists of copper futures contracts. It has gained over 38% in 2025, reflecting both the rally in copper prices and growing investor interest in inflation-sensitive assets. Note: There is not yet a U.S. physical copper ETF, although Sprott has the Sprott Physical Copper Trust that uses a closed-end structure. While this trust is currently listed in Canada, Sprott has filed for the trust to be dual-listed on the NYSE. Copper mining ETFs: While some overlap exists between copper mining ETFs (excluding the junior miners ETF), weightings look very different. Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX B+) is the oldest and largest copper miner ETF, with $2 billion in assets (almost 10x larger than CPER). Companies included have or expect to have a significant portion of their revenues in copper mining (or related exploration and refinement activities). These companies are weighted by free float market capitalization with a max weight of 4.75%. Its top holdings include First Quantum Minerals (FM CN), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), and Lundin Mining Corp (LUN CN). These companies have large-scale operations and significant leverage to copper prices. Note that several of the weights are currently above 4.5%. This is because it is currently between rebalance periods and rising copper equity prices have boosted weights. While COPX launched in 2010, its other peers all launched relatively recently, between 2023 to 2024. iShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF (ICOP B+) targets companies with exposure to the copper mining industry through revenue or market share. Its constituents are similar to COPX, since the ETF also tracks an index weighted by free float market capitalization. One significant difference, however, is that the maximum weight of a company is 8% rather than 4.5%. This is why ICOP is slightly more top-heavy, with its top 10 holdings summing to 60% compared to 48% for COPX. Another significant difference is the inclusion of several companies in the ICOP’s top holdings that don’t appear in COPX at all — Newmont Corp (NEM). Newmont is a well-known gold mining company, which is the top holding of several gold mining ETFs. While Newmont doesn’t have a large portion of its revenue in copper, it still has a significant market share in the copper market. Sprott has two copper miner ETFs: the Sprott Copper Miners ETF (COPP B-) and the Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF (COPJ B-). COPP is the only ETF that also provides access to physical copper through holding the Sprott Physical Copper Trust, which was recently added as of June 23, 2025. Currently, the weight of physical copper is around 4% of the ETF. COPP’s weights also differ significantly from its peers. Freeport McMoRan is currently around 26% of the ETF’s weight, which also contributes to a much higher exposure to the U.S. than its peer group. This could be an important factor if tariff disruptions are enough to disrupt some of the global copper producers. COPJ follows a similar methodology to COPP except it consists of mid-, small-, and micro-cap stocks. Its second largest holding is currently Ivanhoe Electric, which was mentioned above as a growing U.S. copper miner. Themes Copper Miners ETF (COPA) is the newest in the group. And while it has only gained around $1 million in assets, it’s been able to outperform most of its peers. Themes is also known for its relatively low expense ratios. COPA’s expense ratio is only 35 basis points, which is significantly lower than its peers. Leveraged ETFs: Lately, a group of ETFs is rarely complete without at least one leveraged ETF. The USCF Daily Target 2X Copper Index Fund (CPXR) targets twice the daily return of the SummerHaven Copper Index, which is the same index that CPER follows. The fund was launched in January 2025 — one of many leveraged funds launched this year. Bottom Line: Copper can serve as a thematic play or as part of a broader diversified commodities portfolio. Most allocations to copper will require investing in copper miners as opposed to physical copper. For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETFDB.