Canned foods could rise by as much as 30 cents apiece due to Trump’s tariffs on steel: report

Soup, beans, and even pineapple could soon cost more — not because of what’s inside the can, but because of the can itself.

A recent move by the Trump administration to double tariffs on imported steel to 50% is expected to raise the price of tin-coated steel, a material critical to food cans.

Industry experts warn that the cost of canned goods could increase by 9% to 15% as a result, according to the Consumer Brands Association, which represents major food companies like Campbell’s, Hormel and Del Monte.

That could mean a can of vegetables currently priced at $2 might jump by as much as 30 cents, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The American consumer is going to pay more for their cans,” Dan Dietrich, vice president of strategy at Trivium Packaging, told the Journal.

The higher tariffs, announced June 4, are intended to boost demand for US-made steel by making imported alternatives less competitive. But manufacturers say the domestic supply of tin-plate — the ultra-thin, tin-coated steel used in food cans — is nowhere near enough to meet demand.

Most US steel is made from scrap, which lacks the purity and consistency needed for food-grade tin-plate.

“I would love nothing more than to allocate more purchases to the United States, but the overall production capacity is not there,” said Robert Gatz, general manager of Can Corp. of America, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer that specializes in cans for tomato products.

Can Corp. churns out around one billion cans each year, but just 12% of the tin-plate it uses comes from US suppliers, Gatz told the Journal.

Industry-wide, roughly 75% of the tin-plate used in the US is imported, primarily from Europe and Canada. In 2023 alone, nearly 1.5 million tons of tin-plate were brought into the country — a 37% increase from 2015, according to Census Bureau data.

While Pittsburgh-based US Steel still produces tin-plate, it has scaled back operations in recent years. Cleveland-Cliffs, once another major domestic supplier, shuttered its tin-plate plant in Weirton, W. Va., in 2023. CEO Lourenco Goncalves blamed the closure on the lack of tariffs at the time — but says it’s too late now.

“It’s done. When the horse leaves the barn, the horse does not come back to the barn,” Goncalves told reporters last week.

Can producers estimate that the earlier 25% tariff, imposed in March, increased their costs by 7% to 8%. Doubling it, they say, could push that figure past 14%. Those higher costs will inevitably be passed on to food companies — and, ultimately, to consumers.

Thomas Hunter, co-president of McCall Farms, a South Carolina-based producer of canned vegetables, said the company has already faced rising costs from labor and raw produce over the past five years.

Now, the price of packaging could make canned foods a harder sell.

“The biggest concern we have is that these canned vegetables start getting to a point where the consumers are not willing to purchase them any more,” Hunter said.

Cans are valued for their long shelf life and durability, particularly for staple foods. But if prices climb too high, manufacturers may consider switching to cheaper packaging.

“We’re getting to the tipping point with many customers,” said Rick Huether, CEO of Maryland-based Independent Can Co., which makes decorative tins for snacks and specialty foods.

“You’re just driving them to plastic packaging.”

The Consumer Brands Association warns that as many as 20,000 US jobs in food-can manufacturing could be at risk if consumers begin turning away from canned products due to rising prices.

“Domestic steel and aluminum production is imperative for our defense-industrial base,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Post in an emailed statement.

“The Trump administration is committed to reshoring manufacturing that’s critical for our national and economic security while unleashing a full suite of supply-side reforms – including rapid deregulation, tax cuts, and unleashing American energy – to continue delivering economic relief for the American people.”

Desai added that “billions in steel and aluminum investment commitments and back-to-back, expectation-beating inflation reports prove we can accomplish both goals at the same time.”