Can Manufacturers Institute asks Trump administration to exclude tinplate steel from tariffs, import restrictions

The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) has told the U.S. Commerce Department that tinplate steel—the material used to make food cans—should be exempt from tariff and other import restrictions because of the vital role it plays in the U.S. economy.

CMI President Robert Budway provided this perspective at the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security public hearing on May 24 investigating the effects of steel imports on U.S. national security.

Tariff or trade restrictions will have severe economic impact on the can manufacturing industry and its employees, according to Budway. The dominant issue is that U.S. tinplate steel production does not meet domestic demand. In 2016, U.S. demand was 2.1 million tons, while domestic tinplate production was 1.2 million tons, which means that only 58 percent of domestic demand can be met by U.S. tinplate producers.

Approximately 2 percent of all steel is tinplate, and Budway said that a separate category of tinplate steel requires its own consideration and examination, as it is not used in any U.S. defense or national security applications.

There has been a noticeable decline in the quality of domestic tinplate. In Budway’s statement, he said, “The rejection rates of domestically produced tinplate are approximately 300 percent to 500 percent higher versus foreign suppliers.”

This proposed tariff or restriction would disadvantage food can manufacturers versus competing packaging materials, such as plastic and glass, which are not subject to tariffs. Budway said, “Even a small increase in the price of raw materials would create a destructive competitive disadvantage, forcing possible closures of can manufacturing plants in the U.S. and negatively impacting the 10,000 workers and their families in these U.S.-based plants. One could easily foresee where finished cans or even cans with food products made overseas could be imported at lower costs than U.S.-produced cans.”