Steel tariffs and soaring US grocery costs

Some apt poll results have come in this week, when team CanTech (myself and Flora McRitchie) are in the US for the IMDPA Conference.

According to the poll, commissioned by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and conducted by RealClear Opinion Research, 87 per cent of US voters, including 82 per cent of people who voted for President Donald Trump, are concerned about the cost of their groceries. The poll also found that half of voters surveyed characterised groceries as very or extremely expensive, while nearly three in four parents say their monthly grocery bill has increased in the past three months.

This comes at a time when the Trump Administration continues to impose Section 232 tariffs on the tinplate steel used to make food cans. According to CMI, the poll shows that Americans understand the connection between these tariffs and increased food costs, with 70 per cent of Trump voters agreeing that tariffs on materials like tinplate steel are making groceries more expensive.

“Tariffs on tinplate steel have real and unintended consequence for US can manufacturers, farmers, food producers, and millions of American families that rely on canned goods,” said Scott Breen, president of the Can Manufacturers Institute and keynote speaker at this week’s IMDPA Conference. He continued: “Targeted tariff relief on steel used for packaging is an opportunity for the Trump Administration to address rising food costs, limit foreign imports of canned foods, provide relief to US farmers, and protect thousands of US manufacturing jobs. This is a narrow adjustment to trade policy that puts America first.”

The research poll found that 72 per cent of voters, including 71 percent of Trump voters, support a tariff exemption on tinplate steel. Tinplate steel is a specialised product, and its production makes up less than one per cent of total steel production worldwide. Nearly 80 per cent of tinplate for domestic can manufacturing is imported.

“The Trump Administration is rightfully using tariffs to stimulate domestic production, but data shows tariffs do not lead to investments in tinplate,” Breen said. “Since President Trump put in place Section 232 tariffs on steel in 2018, nine of 12 US tinplate lines have stopped running, leaving steel can manufacturers no choice but to import from trade allies like Canada, the European Union, and United Kingdom. There has been no payoff for the higher costs for canned goods that tariffs on tinplate are creating since US steel companies have only announced investments in higher volume steel products. Targeted and immediate tariff relief for tinplate would be a significant win for American consumers, farmers, food producers, and can manufacturers.”

The poll also shows that 90 per cent of Americans believe it is critical that the US grows its own food, rather than relying on foreign imports, including competitors like China. Metal tariffs increase the cost to make food cans in the United States, giving foreign competitors an advantage, with most of the 1.7 billion imported cans of food being cheaper and nearly 25% of those food cans coming from China.

Other key findings from the research include:

• 98 per cent of Trump voters find it important that the US grows and produces its own food, including canned foods, rather than relying on foreign imports.
• 80 per cent of Americans are concerned that the US is becoming increasingly dependent on China and other countries that produce canned foods at a low cost.
• 60 per cent of voters do not trust the safety of food products grown and made in China, while 91 per cent of voters trust the safety of products grown in the United States by US farmers and made in the US.
• 59 per cent of voters, including 71 per cent of Trump voters, say a canned food item being from China makes them less likely to buy the product.

To download the full poll results, click here.

We will be hearing more from CMI’s Scott Breen today at the IMDPA Conference in Itasca, Illinois, no doubt with more key insights which will be shared in due course.

• Alex Rivers (she/her), CanTech International editor
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