The National Post reports in its Friday, July 11, edition that U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of heavy tariffs on copper imports starting Aug. 1 raises concerns in Quebec, home to Canada's only copper smelting facility and a major refinery that conducts significant cross-border business. The Post's Catherine Levesque writes that Quebec Mining Association president Emmanuelle Toussaint says: "We're in a context that has already been fragile since the start of the year with geopolitical tensions. There is also an overproduction of certain critical and strategic minerals that is causing price volatility. All these elements are causing great economic pressure, notably in the copper industry. So, this is an additional uncertainty that is adding to an already fragile situation." Industry players are keeping a close eye on when Mr. Trump will sign an executive order imposing the tariffs, if they will come into force next month, whether they will be at the 50 per cent rate he promised, and how they could potentially affect both countries' deeply integrated supply chains. Mining Association of Canada head Pierre Gratton says tariffs are a concern for the "mid-stream" operators in Quebec who refine and smelt copper.