A research study conducted on behalf of the Beer Institute reveals that the American beverage industry has paid more than $2.175 billion in unnecessary fees due to aluminum tariffs that were implemented nearly six years ago. The study concluded that brewers all sizes pay a higher price for aluminum, whether the aluminum is sourced in the US or overseas.
Brewers and beverage producers of all sizes pay a higher price for aluminum because rolling mills and smelters include tariffs in their prices – regardless of whether the metal is subject to Section 232 tariffs. Paying a tariff-laden price on all aluminum drives up costs for producers and makes consumer goods more expensive, according to the study.
More than 74 percent of all beer produced in the United States is packaged in aluminum cans and bottles.
“After almost six years, the American beverage industry has paid nearly $2.2 billion in unnecessary fees since Section 232 tariffs on aluminum were implemented,” said Brian Crawford, president and CEO of the Beer Institute. “Brewers and countless hardworking Americans in industries that depend on aluminum have been taking it on the chin for far too long. The reality is that Section 232 tariffs hurt far more than they help, and they hurt consumers who are already feeling the effects of inflation at the register. We are reiterating our call to the Biden administration to lift these harmful tariffs and deliver much-needed relief to the 2.4 million Americans whose livelihoods depend on beer, as well as the millions more working in critical manufacturing industries who rely on aluminum.”
The research conducted by HARBOR Aluminum on behalf of the Beer Institute found that the U.S. beverage industry paid $2.175 billion in Section 232 tariffs on 10.295 million metric tons of aluminum since their implementation.
See the full Beer Institute press release here.