Metal miner Rio Tinto (RIO) wants to increase its production in the U.S. as President Donald Trump continues his trade war with tariffs. The company is interested in expanding U.S. copper mining and is the second-largest copper miner in the world. It already owns the Resolution and Kennecott copper projects in Arizona and Utah.
Katie Jackson, head of the mining company’s copper operations, told The Wall Street Journal, “It’s clear that under the Trump administration, there is an increasing recognition of the need for domestic sources of copper and other critical materials in the U.S., to support manufacturing and the country’s energy future.”
This tracks with comments and actions made by President Trump to bolster the U.S.’s metal production. That includes hefty tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, as well as an executive order that simplifies the permit process and grants additional government funding for metal production.
What This Means for RIO Stock
Rio Tinto increasing U.S. production could be beneficial for RIO stock as it allows the company to avoid tariffs on metal imports. The U.K.-based company would also continue to benefit from its international business with mines around the world.
While Rio Tinto stock might benefit from increasing U.S. production, there’s still ongoing volatility in the stock market affecting the shares. This has RIO stock down 2% as of this writing, but the shares are still up 8.67% year-to-date and 4.38% over the last year.
Is RIO Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Rio Tinto is Strong Buy based on three Buy and one Hold ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $76.60, a high of $79, and a low of $73. This represents a potential upside of 24.09% for RIO stock.
See more RIO stock analyst ratings
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