The Trump administration has hiked up tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25%. The sting from these tariffs could be felt here at USC, where single-use plastic beverage bottles were eliminated from campus back in 2022 -- in favor of aluminum ones.
Annenberg Media spoke with students about how much aluminum they use daily.
“I had a coke yesterday and then one of the aluminum bottles of water they sell on campus,” said Diana Cruz, a sophomore studying human biology.
Jonathan Yoo, a senior gerontology major, said he avoids using too much plastic, so metal makes sense.
“We’re a huge Hydro Flask family,” Yoo said. “So we use aluminum bottles as much as we can.”
But aluminum and steel could be getting more expensive due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.
USC Assistant Economics Professor Monica Morlacco explains that tariffs are taxes that a government increases or decreases on imported goods to protect domestic industries.
“In practice, this means that the price of these imported goods increases. And now, what does it mean for businesses and consumers? Aluminum and steel are very important inputs in the production of many, many products,” said Morlacco. “And so this means that the cost of producing many products in the United States increases and for businesses, it means higher costs.”
Including at the cash register, where Morlacco said consumers should expect higher prices on items from Hydroflask’s to new cars.
“Tariffs are going to have a significant impact on the price of automobiles,” she said.
Although consumers can hold off on some costlier purchases, like buying a car, staying away from the cans and bottles we depend on may not be as easy.