US tariffs on food and beverage
Food is rarely a 232 metal problem. It is an IEEPA, origin, and pass-through problem. Retailers do not absorb a 15% landed-cost shock for a mid-market brand.
Working register. Rates on the desk were last checked on 26 August 2026. They are not yet signed off against the governing proclamation or CBP entry practice. Do not treat a rate here as advice to classify, enter, or protest.
What hits a food brand
Most food lines are not on the 232 metal register. They sit under IEEPA or another ad valorem instrument, and under whether the good originates. The commercial problem is pass-through. A US retailer will not hold a mid-market brand harmless.
Packaging with enough metal can drag a line onto a derivative conversation. That is the exception, not the starting point. Start with origin and the rate you actually pay.
Shelf price is a pass-through question
On the client example, 40% pass-through leaves a real absorbed amount. Food is worse when the buyer has a planogram and a price lock. Model 0% and 40% before you promise the shelf price holds.
If the brand cannot move price, the duty is an EBITDA event. That is when the conversation stops being “tariffs” and becomes which SKUs you keep in the US.
What to do this week
List US-bound SKUs, the rate you pay, and whether you are the IOR. Run the calculator on the true COGS share. Then decide which items still earn a slot if you cannot pass the duty through.
Factual answers
- Does CUSMA make food duty-free into the US?
- When the good originates and the certification is complete, many food lines take the Agreement rate. That is not automatic, and it does not cover every instrument. “Not sure” is the full rate.
- We ship DDP to a US distributor. Who claims a refund?
- The importer of record on the entry. If that is not you, you do not own the IEEPA claim even if you paid the commercial invoice.
- Is packaging a 232 problem?
- Only if the metal content puts the article on a listed derivative. Most food is not that file. Check the SKU before you rebuild the whole packaging line for a duty you may not be on.
The register, the calculator, the certificate, the industries, and the mandate sit together. The old standalone calculator is not in this set.
The shelf price is the P&L
Run the pass-through case, then decide which US items still belong on the truck.