The Biden administration is considering a new set of tariffs on some steel imports that would increase food prices for consumers already reeling from the recent run of high inflation.
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission are considering a petition that would impose tariffs of up to 300 percent on tinplate steel, a key component in tin cans like those commonly used to pack food products including tuna, soup, baked beans, and more. If the administration decides to implement those tariffs on imports from eight countries, it would be a blatantly protectionist maneuver aimed at benefitting a single American company—the Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which requested the tariffs—at the expense of consumers nationwide.
