This Saturday, Americans from all backgrounds will gather with friends and family to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. As an American with Irish roots, St. Patrick’s Day is a special day where we gather together to toast Ireland’s patron saint, our collective heritage, and to enjoy a cold beer.
St. Patrick’s Day, and every day, is about matching the perfect beer in the right packaging for the right consumer. Whether the beer is in an aluminum can or bottle, a glass bottle, or poured in a glass directly from a keg, America’s brewers and beer importers want to make sure that when Americans choose to enjoy a beer, it matches the occasion.
Unfortunately, earlier this month President Trump signed an executive order that would establish a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum that will get in the way of that goal. Because of this new tax, America’s 5,000+ brewers will face a new $347 million annual tax to their businesses, which will stifle innovation and force brewers to make difficult decisions on how to run their businesses instead of focusing on brewing beer.
Last year America’s brewers bought 36 billion aluminum cans and bottles. Although beer is made from barley, hops, water, and yeast, aluminum is the largest commodity risk for our nation’s brewers. Even though this tariff has yet to go into effect, the price of aluminum has already skyrocketed since the president announced his intention to impose this new tariff.
We appreciate President Trump’s commitment to safeguarding American jobs. We know that he wants to protect all American workers while defending the aluminum industry. However, this tariff will have the opposite effect.
Tariffs are taxes, and increasing taxes kills jobs. A 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum would lead to the loss of more than 20,000 American jobs, from brewmasters to bartenders and waiters and waitresses that depend on America’s vigorous beer industry.
The American public, as well as our nation’s leading economists, do not agree with these tariffs. According to a Quinnipiac University National Poll, the majority of Americans oppose the tariffs proposed by the president, and a University of Chicago survey of 43 top economists found not a single one said Trump’s tariffs will end up being a net positive for Americans.
America’s brewers and importers are grateful for Trump and members of Congress for providing broad and fair federal excise tax relief for all brewers and beer importers as a part of comprehensive tax reform that the president signed in December. Brewers and importers large and small have been, are, and will continue to invest in the U.S. and will continue to innovate in their businesses, create even more types and styles of beer for consumers, and support jobs across the nation.
Unfortunately, the cost of this tariff completely negates any federal excise tax savings that brewers would see from the tax cuts, and brewers will be faced with difficult decisions on how to adjust for the significant costs to their businesses that this new tax will impose.
American beer has never been more dynamic. Today, more than 2.2 million American jobs depend on our nation’s breweries, and together brewers and beer importers are pouring more than $350 billion into America’s economy. And American consumers — whether on St. Patrick’s Day or gathering with co-workers for a happy hour for no particular reason — want to enjoy the right beer for the right occasion.
So no matter how you choose to toast St. Patrick’s Day — be it with a beer in an aluminum can or bottle, in a glass bottle, or freshly poured from a keg — America’s brewers strive to ensure you enjoy a quality experience every time you order a beer while in a bar or restaurant or open a beer in the comfort of your home. Although St. Patrick’s Day celebrates our Irish heritage, America’s brewers and importers are employing Americans who are together making America’s most popular alcoholic beverage.
America’s brewers and importers want to continue celebrating on St. Patrick’s Day. A new tax on brewers and importers, unfortunately, is nothing to toast to.
Jim McGreevy is president & CEO of the Beer Institute.
