Under the current administration, US stocks have tanked, foreign relations are at an all-time low, and everything is becoming increasingly expensive. But at least you can sit back with a cold beer and wait for it to blow over. Or maybe, actually, you can't.
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In the long and complex list of tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and his government, one particular tax has caught beer drinkers' eyes. It's a tax on aluminum and the 'malt-based' contents. This includes 40% of all US beer imports.
The tariff targets empty aluminum cans and aluminum cans containing drinks made from malt. There will be a 25% baseline import on all aluminium cans that are either empty or filled with beer. This will sit on top of the 20% tariffs on European beer and the 10% tariffs on Mexican beer. Your imported beer is about to become significantly more expensive.
I don't think anyone in the world would argue that the US has internationally competitive beer. Being left with things like Miller and Bud Lite sounds like a fate worse than hell. As it stands, the top six beers in the US are all imports, and rightly so. They may be about to become significantly more expensive.
Beer Companies Holding Back On Imports Amid Beer Tariffs Confusion
As the confusion about the massive swathe of tariffs grows, foreign beer manufacturers are withholding their imports. The complete understanding of what the US aluminium tax means for beer still isn't completely understood.
The effects won't only be on imported beers either. The blanket tax on aluminum imports will affect domestic brewers, too. The majority of aluminum used in the US comes from Canada, as the US simply doesn't have the facilities or mines to cater to the US's needs.
There is growing uncertainty among beer importers over the new US tariffs. Suppliers are holding back on their exports until clarity can be gained. Most companies are trying not to panic, but the $1.1 billion EU exports of beer to the US is not a small number.
So, even if you are a fan of American made beer, you'll still be seeing a price hike. Freedom of speech, housing, and human rights can be stripped. But when a government starts taking away people's beer, there is usually hell to pay.
