President Trump's imposition of a swingeing tariff regime, doubling levies on imported steel and aluminum, threatens a cascading inflationary effect, potentially engendering a significant uptick in grocery prices for American consumers, given the ubiquitous presence of these materials in product packaging; this protectionist maneuver, ostensibly aimed at bolstering the domestic steel industry, may paradoxically undermine his stated commitment to alleviating food costs, sparking concerns among trade analysts such as Usha Haley, who foresees strained transatlantic relations and a broad spectrum of affected consumer goods, ranging from canned comestibles to beverages and pet sustenance, ultimately conferring an unwarranted competitive advantage upon foreign canneries poised to undercut American agricultural and food processing sectors, as cautioned by Robert Budway, president of the Can Manufacturers Institute.