U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose sweeping metals tariffs is creating worry and opportunity in can manufacturing and packaging, an industry that relies heavily on the raw materials.
The 25 percent tax on aluminum and steel coming into the United States starting March 12, and the possibility of retaliation tariffs, is expected to have cost ripples for buyers of beer, soup and everything else producers seal up in metal.
“It’s just another hit that the industry can’t take,” said CJ Hélie, president of Beer Canada.
“The magnitude and the timing, you know, couldn’t be worse.”
While almost 90 percent of beer consumed in Canada is brewed here, most of the cans are imported, including the popular 473 millilitre size popular among craft breweries, he said….