February 12, 2025 – During an earnings call on February 11th, James Quincey, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, revealed that the company might adjust its packaging strategy, reducing the use of aluminum cans and shifting towards plastic bottles, if the latest round of tariff policies proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are implemented.
Just a day earlier, the White House announced on social media platform X that Trump had signed a document imposing a 25% tariff on all imports of steel and aluminum into the United States starting next month, aiming to revitalize the domestic steel and aluminum industries and recover lost jobs.
Quincey emphasized that the company’s packaging strategy adjustments are closely linked to ensuring affordable pricing and meeting consumer demand. He explained, “If the cost of a particular packaging material rises, we will offer alternative packaging options to maintain our competitive edge in pricing. For instance, if aluminum can costs increase, we may utilize PET plastic bottles more extensively.”
While Quincey believes the overall financial impact of the tariffs on the company will be limited, he acknowledged that Coca-Cola does import some aluminum from Canada. He added, “We might have overstated the risk of a 25% increase in aluminum prices to our entire business system. Although it’s not a small amount, it’s not sufficient to fundamentally alter our multibillion-dollar business in the U.S. After all, packaging represents only a small portion of our total cost structure.”
According to insights from AsiaMB, in response to the potential impact of the tariff policies, Coca-Cola is also considering sourcing aluminum domestically and adjusting prices to mitigate the pressure. It’s worth noting that despite aluminum’s higher recycling rate compared to plastic, Coca-Cola has been criticized by environmental organizations as one of the world’s largest plastic polluters due to its use of single-use plastic packaging in recent years. Consequently, the company has been gradually increasing its use of aluminum packaging, such as for its Dasani mineral water and premium water line, Smartwater.