In a detailed 12-page letter to the Commerce Secretary, Indiana-based tomato-canner Red Gold has laid out its case for new tariffs on imported tin-plated cans. The company is one of many US firms that have requested about 700 new items be added to the “steel derivatives” tariff list.
Red Gold, which sources from 43 farms, complained it faces tariffs of 25% on UK tinplate steel and 50% on steel from elsewhere. These costs are for the raw materials to make its own cans.
In contrast, it pointed out, foreign businesses can import finished tin-plated cans with “no comparable tariff,” allowing them to undercut US producers. This, Red Gold argues, is an “unfair” loophole that is damaging domestic industry.
This argument is being echoed by hundreds of other companies, including bike makers, mattress spring producers, and cookware firms. Their requests were submitted before an October 21 deadline for the second consultation in three months.
This domestic campaign is ringing alarm bells in Europe. Exporters, who are already operating under new trade deals with baseline tariffs, fear this new, “additive” tariff will be stacked on top, “making a mockery” of their agreements.
With a near-100% success rate for the 407 items added in August, the new 700-item list is widely expected to be approved in December or January. This reflects what one expert calls a “liberal, expansive approach” by the US.