11. Soup, soda and beer cans
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on CNBC downplayed the possible price increase of a can of Campbell’s soup, Coca-Cola or Budweiser as a result of the tariff moves.
“A can of Campbell’s, a popular American soup brand, has 2.6 cents worth of steel. If the cost of that input rises by 25 percent, that adds an extra six-tenths of one cent onto the price of soup. Who wouldn’t be willing to pay that?”
Of a Coke, he said, aluminum tariffs would add 0.3 of a cent. He also mentioned beer cans.
Said Campbell’s: “Any new broad-based tariffs on imported tin plate steel — an insufficient amount of which is produced in the U.S. — will result in higher prices.”
Pennies add up, said the Can Manufacturers Institute, noting Americans use 119 billion food, beverage, aerosol and general line cans.
“Our initial calculations are the tariffs will increase the cost of the can by nearly 1 cent. This 1 cent average increase translates into $1.1 billion that our industry and consumers will unnecessarily pay to the U.S. government,” said Robert Budway, can institute president.