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Domestic Demand vs. Production
Comparison of U.S. demand for tinplate steel versus domestic production capacity.
Primary Sources
Trump's steel tariffs are having unintended consequences | Opinion
April 9, 2026Updated April 10, 2026, 7:48 p.m. ETThe Iran war has sent prices of steel and aluminum steeply higher globally due to shipping and supply disruptions. Nowhere is the impact felt more than in the United States, where every movement in world prices is amplified by 50% tariffs.Those tariffs have impacts in a place the president might not have even considered: the price of canned food and beverages at the grocery store.Tinplate steel ‒ essential for food cans containing soup, beans, tomatoes, fruits and other staples ‒ is a niche product. It's produced by coating hot-rolled steel sheets with a thin tin layer for corrosion resistance, allowing varied thicknesses and widths for two- and three-piece cans suited to diverse foods.Domestic production of this type of steel meets only about 30% of demand, coming from two producers, U.S. Steel and Ohio Coatings Co. There is no near-term prospect for increased U.S. production, and the 50% tariff on foreign steel has been mostly passed through in the form of higher prices on products that use these types of cans.An unintended consequence of steel tariffsThese costs add hundreds of millions of dollars each for brands like Campbell's, Kraft Heinz and Conagra. Plant closures are happening: Del Monte Foods shut its cannery in Modesto, California, earlier this year, eliminating 600 full-time and up to 900 seasonal jobs.Odus Hall, a union representative at the now-shut-down plant, pointed out that "all that tariff did was increase the cost of canned foods, making it that much more difficult for them to compete in the market against imported peaches that come in already canned."Got that? Tariffs have made it more expensive to can and sell American-grown foods in America than to import foods grown and canned abroad.The food can sector, with $15.7 billion in economic activity, employs 28,000 Americans ‒ jobs that are now endangered.Capacity within the industry has dropped 66% since 2018, with lines shuttered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Gary, Indiana; and Weirton, West Virginia ‒ resulting in thousands of steelworker layoffs.Aluminum tariffs hit beer drinkers in their walletsAluminum for beverage cans suffers the same unintended harm. Aluminum dominates packaging, with more than 70% of beer sold in cans, plus soda, energy drinks and more. Aluminum is the largest single input cost for brewers.The 50% tariffs have driven the difference between international and domestic wholesale aluminum prices to over $1 per pound fo...
Trump Advisors Divided on How to Tariff Iran's Allies - WWD
The Trump administration is reportedly considering leveraging the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—the same trade law used to impose the now-defunct global tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February—to penalize Iran’s allies. That’s according to White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who confirmed that the president was mulling new tariffs of 50 percent on countries that supply weapons to the country, which has been embroiled in conflict with the United States and Israel since late February. “This is clearly within the president’s tariff power, that if we’re in a state of conflict, then the IEEPA policy is exactly designed for that,” Hassett said during an interview with Fox Business Thursday morning. “Countries really should be careful. If you’re helping our adversary, then President Trump will take note and he’ll take action.” Hassett’s comments came after an irate evening Truth from Trump, who indicated that the duties would be “effective immediately,” and that there “will be no exclusions or exemptions” to the edict. But the president’s closest advisors apparently aren’t aligned on the strategy. On Thursday afternoon, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer told Politico that IEEPA could be used “not so much for tariffs,” but to “prohibit” certain types of trade. “You can have the same effect with IEEPA as a prohibitive tariff,” he explained. Greer said he was “still reviewing options with the president” to impose the duties and said there were other statutes that could be leveraged. “The President has numerous executive powers at his disposal to safeguard our national security, including IEEPA. The administration is exploring all available tools to ensure both Americans and the world are safe from any terror threats,” a White House official told the outlet. Little known or referenced before Trump took office for a second term, IEEPA, a Jimmy Carter-era trade law, authorizes the Commander in Chief to regulate international commerce in the face of a national emergency related to the presence of an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy that originates wholly or substantially outside of the country. Trump invoked IEEPA to levy duties on dozens of U.S. trading partners last April. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on what he termed “Liberation Day,” the president said the nation’s “chronic trade deficits are no longer merely an eco...
Trump's tariffs dealt an economic blow to all 50 states ... - Fortune
With prices for items like fertilizer expected to rise even higher owing to the war in Iran, and Trump promising to preserve his tariff policy despite orders from the Supreme Court to abandon his ...
Trump Uses Iran War to Justify Ramming Through Policy Changes
The White House has also suggested the war could justify a new round of import tariffs, even though the Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs in February. On Thursday National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox Business the White House has the authority to slap tariffs on goods from countries that supply weapons to Iran.
