American kitchenware companies, including American Pan and Chicago Metallic, are asking the US Commerce Department for new tariffs, claiming China is “flooding the market” with low-cost commercial cookware. Their products, used for baking bread, muffins, and croissants, are part of a 700-item list submitted for “steel derivative” tariffs.
These firms, along with others like Guardian Bikes and Red Gold, argue they are at an “unfair” advantage. They must pay high tariffs on raw materials like steel, while they claim foreign competitors can import finished goods without a similar penalty.
While the complaints often target China, the tariffs would be applied globally, hitting exporters in Europe and other allied nations. This has manufacturers in the UK and EU on high alert, as they already operate under separate trade deals with baseline tariffs.
This new “additive” tariff, they fear, “makes a mockery” of those agreements by stacking a new levy on top of the old ones. The concern is amplified by the near-100% success rate of a previous list in August, which saw 407 items added.
A decision on this new 700-item list is expected in December or January, following an October 21 submission deadline. This has created significant uncertainty in the global cookware and manufacturing markets.