Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey suggested using more PET plastic bottles if needed to offset President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs of U.S. aluminum imports.

Coca-Cola’s exposure to aluminum and steel is a little more than a quarter of the company’s packaging mix, as of 2023 . Meanwhile, if Coca-Cola moved more product into plastic, it would expand a substrate that already accounted for nearly half of its packaging.

In December, the company abandoned its plastic reduction and reuse goals, announcing that it had revised its climate goals to focus more heavily on the use of recycled materials.

These tariffs are expected to drive up the cost of aluminium cans, which could significantly impact the price of the country's canned beverages and foods. Coca-Cola CEO James Quin

Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands,” President Trump said while signing the measures on Feb. 10. Unlike similar policies ordered by Trump in 2018, the new tariffs won’t carve out exemptions for trading partners like Canada and Mexico.