Steel Tariffs Driving Up Prices of Canned Foods

The humble can of corn—or soup, or beans, or whatever—is turning into an unexpected stress test for President Trump's steel tariffs. The products in the canned food aisle of the supermarket rely on "tin-coated, ultrathin sheet steel made from molten iron," as the Wall Street Journal explained a while back. The problem is that only about 20% is produced in the US. Even though US Steel plans to restart a tin plate line in Indiana, manufacturers will be relying mostly on imported material for the foreseeable future, per the New York Times. The result on shelves a year after Trump slapped a 50% tariff on steel: In March, canned fruits and vegetables cost 5.7% more than a year earlier, versus a 2% rise for all at-home food.

Some of Trump's tariffs have been overturned by the courts, but not so with steel, and the squeeze is hitting up and down the supply chain. Ohio Coatings, one of just two US tin plate producers, supports the tariffs but imports about three-quarters of its base material ("blackplate") and says its profit margins are "challenged." The industry wants temporary tariff waivers on blackplate and is also pushing to close a loophole that exempts imported cans when they already contain food—a gap that's helping foreign canned goods gain ground as US-made cans get pricier.