US will not impose tariffs on imported tin mill steel

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has ruled against imposing tariffs on imported tin mill steel, the metal widely used in cans for various industries, including pet food. This means that no anti-dumping duties will be applied to any country.

Anti-dumping tariffs

The decision in February came after steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union had filed a petition with the US Department of Commerce (DOC), the International Trade Administration and the USITC to impose anti-dumping tariffs as high as 294% to safeguard local tin mill producers.

That would have affected imports from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK.

For the Pet Food Institute (PFI), this decision is a “victory” for consumers and the pet food industry. “The USITC’s 0-4 unanimous vote against the tariffs, in conjunction with the DOC’s final duty determination in January, protects 40,000 US manufacturing jobs and prevents up to 30% consumer price increases on canned goods,” says PFI president Dana Brooks.

According to PFI, the trade association representing the country’s pet food and treat manufacturers, in 2022 around 62% of the tinplate steel used by US pet food manufacturers was imported.

What was overturned?

The DOC had determined at the beginning of the year that Canada, China, Germany and the Republic of Korea would have to pay anti-dumping duties on tin mill steel imports. German, Canadian and South Korean tin mill steel suppliers would have to pay tariffs of 6.88%, 5.27% and 2.69% respectively, while Chinese tin mill imports were subjected to a 122.52% tariff. The Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK were released from investigations after their trade dumping calculations were found to be non-invasive.

Avoiding a pet food price hike

The initial 300% tariff requested by Cleveland-Cliffs would have obliged companies in various sectors – including pet players – to put their prices up.

The Consumer Brands Association estimated that the cost of canned food and products could have increased by 19-30% if the new tariff had received the green light from Washington. Experts agree that the additional cost would have been mainly transferred to the end consumer – adding $0.36-0.58 cents (€0.33-0.53 cents) more per can across all food categories.