President Donald J. Trump has issued a proclamation granting a two-year exemption from new federal emissions standards for certain domestic copper smelters. The exemption affects specific stationary sources identified in the proclamation, including Freeport-McMoRan Miami Inc.
The proclamation cites the essential role of copper in the United States' energy, defense, and manufacturing sectors. President Trump referenced Executive Order 14220, issued on February 25, 2025, which recognized copper as a "critical material essential to the national security, economic strength, and industrial resilience of the United States," and called for measures to strengthen domestic capacity in the copper supply chain.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had published a final rule on May 13, 2024, establishing new emissions-control requirements for primary copper smelters under the Clean Air Act. The rule, titled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Primary Copper Smelting Residual Risk and Technology Review and Primary Copper Smelting Area Source Technology Review," introduced compliance deadlines and standards based on emissions-control technologies.
President Trump stated that these requirements "impose severe burdens on the few remaining domestic copper smelters by requiring compliance with new national emissions standards." He added that the standards rely on technologies "that do not exist in a commercially demonstrated or cost-effective form," and noted that only two primary copper smelters were operating nationwide in 2024. According to the proclamation, enforcing these requirements could lead to further closures, weaken the industrial base, and increase reliance on foreign-controlled processing.
"In support of this Exemption, I hereby make the following determinations: The technology to implement the Copper Rule is not available. Such technology does not exist in a commercially viable form sufficient to allow implementation of and compliance with the Copper Rule by the compliance dates in the Copper Rule," President Trump stated.
He further emphasized, "It is in the national security interests of the United States to issue this Exemption for the reasons stated in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this proclamation."
The exemption will allow affected smelters to operate under previous standards for an additional two years beyond the deadlines set by the EPA's Copper Rule.
