Canned Goods Prices Could Surge as US Imposes High Tariffs on Steel Imports

The Commerce Department plans to impose tariffs on tin mill steel imported from China, Germany and Canada in a move to protect domestic steel manufactures, according to a senior commerce official.  

The Consumer Brands Association predicted the tariffs, which aim to protect domestic goods by raising the price of international imports, could cause canned good prices to spike by up to 30%, before the announcement had been made.

Tin mill steel is used for canned food, baby formula and paint cans, all of which are now at risk for a 58 cent price increase, the group said in a May 11 op-ed.

China had the largest anti-dumping rate at 122.5%, with Germany and Canada following at more than 7% and 5% respectively, the official said.

China's anti-dumping rate is so high because one entity refused to cooperate with the investigation, and it was unclear if others were state run entities.

Five countries also investigated in the matter, Korea, Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, were found to have a 0% anti-dumping rates.

Germany and Canada each accounted for 20% which China made up 14% of steel imports in 2022, according to data from last year.

Cleveland-Cliffs, one of the biggest flat-rolled steel producers in the U.S., sought out the tariffs in January, arguing that its seen production slow due to competition outside of the country.

"There has been a significant surge in unfairly priced tinplate imports flooding the United States over the past two years, and we cannot let this persist," Cleveland-Cliffs argued in January.

An op-ed published by the Consumer Brand Association warned against the tariffs arguing “if the Biden administration cares about U.S. jobs, cares about U.S. manufacturing and cares about U.S. consumers, it should reject this petition.”

While there was initially more concern that the tariffs would harm consumer good pricing, the Department of Commerce finding that five out of the eight countries had 0% anti-dumping rates, offered a more positive outlook on food pricing.

David Chavern, the association's CEO, welcomed the Biden administration's decision, calling it "a positive step toward protecting U.S. consumers, domestic manufacturers and their workforce."

The International Trade Commision is set make a determination on whether these tariffs will injure U.S. industry in 2024.