House Lawmakers Urge Exemption of Tinplate Steel, Aluminum From Section 232 Investigations

Twenty-three House lawmakers signed a letter this week to President Donald Trump urging him to exempt tinplate steel and aluminum for food packaging in any import restrictions initiated to the administration’s ongoing Section 232 national security reviews of steel and aluminum imports, the office of Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., announced. “The domestic canned food supply chain and flexible packaging industry generates more than $100 billion in total economic activity in the U.S. and employs tens of thousands of American workers,” Bacon said in a statement. “This industry provides some of the safest, most affordable food available to consumers today. We will continue to keep pressing for what we believe is right for America and our constituents.” Tinplate steel composes about 60 percent of the cost of a can, meaning a tariff even as low as 5 percent would raise the cost of goods by 4.2 cents each, “inevitably” passing along higher expenses to consumers, the announcement says.