Pressure Points
The opinions in this column are the authors’ and do not represent
the views of Spray Technology & Marketing.
STEVE CALDEIRA
HCPA President & CEO
What do Beer, Toys and
the HCPA have in common?
NICHOLAS GEORGES
Director, Scientific Affairs, HCPA
It’s not often that the beer, toy and the household and commercial
product industries face a common challenge, but
nothing brings together strange bedfellows like tariffs. On
March 1, 2018, President Trump announced his intention to impose
a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum
imports.
While Congress has the ultimate constitutional power over
tariffs and trade, the president is using Cold War-era authority
that allows him to impose trade restrictions and tariffs based on
threats to national security. President Trump’s efforts to protect
American jobs should be respected; however, imported aluminum
and steel used to make aerosol packaging for consumer and commercial
products is clearly not a threat to national security, in our
respectful opinion.
We believe it is critical that the Household & Commercial
Products Association (HCPA) stand up for its members’ economic
interests and be among the first to throw down a marker
on important issues such as these. That’s why on behalf of our
members, HCPA sent a letter to President Trump and his advisors
expressing our strong opposition to the proposed aluminum and
steel tariffs. Essentially, these proposed tariffs will function as a
tax that would significantly increase costs to manufacturers of
aluminum and steel customers. Combined across industries, this
will potentially cost American manufacturers billions of dollars,
lead to the loss of jobs and raise the prices of common, everyday
products that millions of consumers and workers rely on.
While these tariffs have the potential to affect all seven of
HCPA’s Product Divisions, we know from talking to our Aerosol
Division Board members that they would have a profoundly negative
impact on the aerosol industry.
The aerosol industry makes a wide range of products that benefit
the daily lives of nearly everyone in this country. In fact, many
of the $180 billion annually of products manufactured by HCPA
members rely on aerosol technology.
Aerosol manufacturing is an American powerhouse, with more
than 90% being manufactured by and sold to American companies.
1 This industry relies heavily on high-quality steel and aluminum
to ensure the safety and performance of its products; nearly
all the estimated 3.75 billion aerosols manufactured in 2016 were
made using either aluminum or steel.2 HCPA analysis reports
that in 2016, domestic manufacturers produced 3.02 billion steel
containers and 811 million aluminum containers.2
10 Spray May 2018
However, the container is not the only part of the aerosol that
would potentially be impacted by a tariff. When looking at a valve,
it’s important to keep in mind that there is a metal spring inside
the assembly. This could dramatically impact the estimated 3.72
billion valves produced in the U.S.2
Typically, the benefits of tariffs are concentrated to a few while
the costs are dispersed to many. Tariffs on aluminum and steel
will decrease access to the best quality materials, slow innovation
and artificially raise the cost of aerosol packaging, and thus the
cost of aerosol products. Companies who produce the packaging
or manufacture aerosol products will have to either absorb
the cost, seek alternative sources of aluminum and steel that may
The aerosol industry makes a wide
range of products that benefit the
daily lives of nearly everyone in
this country. In fact, many of the
$180 billion annually of products
manufactured by HCPA members
rely on aerosol technology.
not provide the same quality of material which we’ve all come to
expect, or pass the cost along the supply chain, ultimately to the
consumer.
HCPA is working with several prominent trade associations,
including the National Retail Federation (NRF), Personal Care
Products Council (PCPC), The Beer Institute, the Can Manufacturers
Institute (CMI), and the Toy Association among others,
as we all join to oppose these tariffs. It is critical that any tariffs
be laser-focused on protecting national security, not taxing the
materials manufacturers use to package everyday products that are
integral to the daily lives of the American people. Spray
1 Based upon 2001 – 2016 Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA)
Aerosol Pressurized Products Survey.
2 2016 Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) Aerosol Pressurized
Products Survey, May 2017.