Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) President Scott Breen issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s proclamation maintaining a competitive advantage to imported canned goods. The Trump Administration must provide immediate, targeted tariff relief for U.S. can manufacturers and food producers as part of an America First trade agenda.

“The Trump Administration’s recent aluminium and steel tariff actions keep costs high to make metal cans in America and low to import canned goods from foreign competitors, like China.

In our derivative inclusion requests, we asked President Trump to level the playing field for America’s farmers and can manufacturers, who have been forced under the high Section 232 metal tariffs to unfairly compete against foreign-filled canned foods and beverages not subject to the same tariffs. Instead, these tariff rate adjustments keep the status quo, solidifying a win for foreign canned goods – the opposite of an America First trade agenda.

President Trump’s proclamation opens the floodgates to more foreign filled cans on grocery store shelves at a time when 98% of Trump voters say America must grow and produce its own food rather than relying on imports.

Keeping foreign canned goods at lower tariffs undermines President Trump’s promises to make groceries affordable again, support American manufacturing, and prioritise American farmers. The Trump Administration must provide immediate, targeted tariff relief for U.S. can manufacturers and food producers, which will support those key sectors and lower the cost of critical U.S. canned goods. We remain committed to working with the Administration to enact trade policies that, first and foremost, benefit American can manufacturers, farmers, and working families.”

American Fruit & Vegetable Coalition Coordinator Denise Bode issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s proclamation maintaining a competitive advantage to imported canned foods:

“American jobs and food production are at stake. Already, more than a dozen American fruit and vegetable canners have been driven out of business by cheap foreign imports. America has become a net food importer, and the lack of action to stop these imports is making this trade imbalance even worse.

Today, an overwhelming share of the produce served to our children in our schools is foreign: 94 percent of fruit and 53 percent of vegetables. At the same time, more and more canned fruits and vegetables in our grocery stores are sourced from abroad, displacing American-grown products and undermining domestic producers.”

The Brewers Association President & CEO Bart Watson issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s proclamation maintaining a competitive advantage to imported canned beer:

“American small brewers are a quintessential part of the domestic manufacturing economy, proudly using U.S.-made agricultural materials and aluminum cans. We agree with the administration that the government has a responsibility to support manufacturers making American products with American inputs, but unfortunately this updated tariff schedule takes us in the opposite direction. 

By continuing to tariff key packaging components such as sheet aluminium, the administration’s policy taxes domestic production while now allowing importers to bring in finished beer in lower or tariff-free cans. We believe the solution is to lower costs for American producers, and ultimately consumers, by creating a lower tariff bridge while more American capacity for domestic aluminum comes online.”