Americans don’t need another reminder that groceries are too expensive. Every trip to the store is another strain on the budget for millions of families.
A new RealClear Opinion Research poll sheds additional light on what shoppers already know. Nearly nine in ten U.S. voters, including more than four in five who supported President Donald Trump, are deeply concerned about rising food prices.
Half of all voters now describe groceries as “very” or “extremely” expensive. For parents, the pinch is especially acute, with nearly three in four saying their monthly grocery bill has increased in just the last three months.
Behind these climbing costs is a hidden driver that most American families don’t see but increasingly understand. Tariffs on tinplate steel, the material used to make canned foods and other packaging that hold everything from soup to nuts, to baby formula, as well as fruits and vegetables, will translate into higher food prices.
The national poll shows that 70 percent of Trump voters recognize tariffs on inputs like tinplate steel as a reason why groceries are getting more expensive. These tariffs have real and unintended consequences for U.S. can manufacturers, farmers, food producers, and millions of Americans who depend on canned goods for affordable, safe, and nutritious food. The good news is that there is a straightforward, targeted solution – grant tariff relief for tinplate steel in food packaging from Section 232 tariffs.
This is not a call for the Trump Administration to abandon a tough stance on trade. President Trump’s tariffs have successfully stimulated investment in high-volume steel products such as reinforcing bar and flat-rolled steel.
Our call to action is a narrow, common-sense adjustment that puts America first. What’s clear is that tariffs do not spur investment in U.S. tinplate manufacturing. Over the last seven years, no new investments in U.S. tinplate have been announced. In fact, U.S. tinplate capacity has only declined.
By adjusting tinplate tariffs, the Trump Administration could immediately ease food costs, limit foreign imports of canned foods, provide relief to U.S. farmers, and protect thousands of manufacturing jobs in American can and food plants. It’s the very definition of a win-win.
This relief can be provided without detracting from the broader, successful tariffs effort to stimulate domestic investment in steel production, especially considering tinplate is a niche, specialized product that makes up less than one percent of global steel production.
But when it comes to tinplate steel, the results are clear. In total, nine of 12 U.S. tinplate production lines have shut down since Section 232 tariffs were first implemented in 2018, leaving the few U.S. tinplate producers nowhere near able to meet demand, even at record prices. American can manufacturers now have no choice but to import most of their tinplate from trade allies like Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
The result is U.S. consumers pay for higher costs on canned goods, without any payoff of an increase in domestic tinplate supply.
There’s also a broader strategic concern to consider—food security. The same poll found that 90 percent of Americans believe it is critical that the United States grows and produces its own food rather than relying on foreign canned food imports, especially from competitors like China.
Nearly 80 percent worry that our country is becoming too dependent on low-cost food imports, and six in 10 voters say they do not trust food products grown or made in China. By contrast, 91 percent trust food grown in the United States by American farmers.
Yet, the unintended consequences of current tariff policy are undermining that priority. By making U.S. canned foods more expensive to produce here at home, tariffs give foreign manufacturers a decided edge on grocery store shelves.
The call for targeted tariff relief for tinplate is not partisan. It reflects the concerns of a broad, bipartisan majority of Americans. The RealClear Opinion Research poll found that 72 percent of voters overall — including 71 percent of Trump voters — support a tariff exemption for tinplate steel.
Nearly every Trump voter surveyed, 98 percent, said it is important that the United States grow and produce its own food, including canned foods. That consensus demonstrates the strong support for President Trump to take decisive action and deliver a sweeping victory for working families feeling the pain of rising food costs.
President Trump has always framed trade policy around the principle of putting America first. Adjusting the Section 232 tariff for tinplate steel would honor that principle. This targeted tariff relief would lower costs for American families, strengthen U.S. food security, support U.S. farmers and food producers, preserve American manufacturing jobs, and reduce reliance on foreign canned food imports.
Let’s make sure the voice of the American People is heard. As the poll results make clear, voters understand this, and they want relief. Tariff adjustments for tinplate steel represent a narrow change with broad and lasting benefits. American families struggling to pay for groceries cannot wait.
Scott Breen is President of the Can Manufacturers Institute, the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States.
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