trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/-IGeEF-JEsmYJVaO-OldCQ2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Consumer companies cite concern with Trump tariffs

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Video

S&P Capital IQ Pro | Powered by Expert Insights

Blog

Q&A: Streamlining Analytics for TCFD Reporting

Blog

Evergrande and the wider impact: a sentiment analytics based perspective


Consumer companies cite concern with Trump tariffs

A number of consumer companies, including Campbell Soup Co.and Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV, have come out against President Donald Trump's intention to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, citing additional costs it will impose on their industries, Bloomberg reported March 2.

Trump announced March 1 that he would seek a 25% tariff on all global steel imports as well as a 10% tariff on global aluminum imports, though the formal policy has not yet been written.

St. Louis-based brewer Anheuser-Busch said in a March 2 statement reported by Fox2 St. Louis that the aluminum tariffs would cost the U.S. brewery industry "millions of dollars" because it uses aluminum cans to package its beer.

"Because beer is increasingly packaged in aluminum cans, the proposed 10 percent tariff on aluminum will likely cost U.S. brewers millions of dollars, making it more difficult to grow and further invest in our U.S. operations," Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other brands, said in a company statement. "We urge the administration to consider the impact of these decisions on the thousands of hard-working Americans and millions of beer drinkers that make up the U.S. beer industry.”

Campbell Soup, which uses steel in its soup cans, also expressed concern. The company said in a statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence that the tariff will lead to higher prices for consumers. "Any new broad-based tariffs on imported tin-plate steel — an insufficient amount of which is produced in the U.S. — will result in higher prices of tin-plate steel which is on one of the safest and more affordable parts of the food supply," the company said.

Anheuser-Busch did not return an S&P Global Market Intelligence request for comment March 2.

However, Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross, who initially recommended the tariffs on steel and aluminum to Trump in February, said on CNBC on March 2 that the tariffs are "no big deal," using a can of Campbell's Soup to illustrate his point.

"In a can of Campbell's Soup, there are about 2.6 pennies worth of steel. So if that goes up by 25 percent, that's about six-tenths of 1 cent on the price on a can of Campbell's Soup," Ross contended. "I just bought this can today at a 7-Eleven ... and it priced at $1.99. Who in the world is going to be too bothered?"

Despite pushback from companies and officials spanning multiple industries, Trump doubled down on his intentions March 2, tweeting: "We must protect our country and our workers. Our steel industry is in bad shape. If you don't have steel, you don't have a country!"