Washington. Demand for metal containers decorated with snowmen and sleds has soared in the sweltering heat in the UNITED States, but industries and firms that manufacture them are facing a shortage of steel needed to make containers due to President Donald Trump’s high steel taxes.

“I’m determined to keep my tin can manufacturing company alive for generations to come, but Trump’s tax increase is complicating this task,” said Rick Huther, ceo of the Independent Can Factory in Belcamp, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore, describing how he started working in his family business at the age of 14. ’

“We’re living in chaos right now,” he told AFP. After taking office again in January, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and aluminum. This has affected the activities of Independent CAN. Huther said that the shortage of new purchases has increased due to the excessive price of can-making steel in the company. Due to the new tax policy, the company has no option but to send goods to the market by adjusting the price of cans.

Lack of steel plate

Huther’s factory uses tin-coated sheets to make containers for safe storage of daily food items such as cookies, dried fruits, coffee and milk powder.

For a company like him, us-made tinplates are not enough. “We can get only 25 per cent of the tinplate from the United States to make tin cans,” he said. We need to buy 70 percent of our steel from the neighborhood. ’

While Huther is in favor of increasing the U.S. manufacturing base, globalization has become so much that he is concerned that Trump’s methods will lead to goods shortages.

Trump has announced a series of big taxes. In order to pressure some of them for trade talks, the administration has also imposed tariffs on goods that some countries do not produce and import from abroad.

Independent Can Udog, which is currently providing direct employment to around 400 people at four different construction sites, is unlikely to reduce any product despite the current turmoil.

Huther said one of the company’s plants in Iowa partially shut down last year due to an increase in steel tariffs during Trump’s first presidency.

Price increase

“If the steel announced by the president is taxed by up to 50 percent, his industry will eventually have to raise prices by more than 20 percent because tinplate represents a part of his production cost,” Huther said.

He said some buyers have already cut their orders by 20 to 25 per cent this year due to concerns about the economy and not enough business.

Citing his experience of the COVID-19 crisis, Huther said, “Americans now seem willing to buy American goods, but the shortage is making it difficult to meet the demand.”

“During the pandemic, our trade increased by 50 per cent due to the closure of imports from China and the closure of ports, but due to lack of raw materials, we were unable to meet the demand,” he said. When the pandemic ended, customers started buying from China. ’

“Today, if people want to come to us, we will try to address their demands. For this, we need to sign a contract of at least two years. ’