Beer Institute Reacts to ITC Report on Aluminum Tariffs

WASHINGTON – Today, the Beer Institute, the oldest national trade organization representing the beer industry, reacted to the release of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) newest report showing that U.S. companies, rather than China, bore the brunt of costs imposed by Section 232 tariffs on aluminum.

“Today’s ITC report confirms what brewers have known since March of 2018: Section 232 tariffs on aluminum punish American job creators by increasing production costs, which ultimately trickle down to higher prices for consumers,” said Brian Crawford, president and CEO of the Beer Institute. “These tariffs have cost the American beverage industry more than $1.7 billion since their enactment and have failed to create the significant number of jobs that were promised. We hope this report will discourage new tariffs on domestic manufacturers and encourage the Biden Administration to repeal Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and deliver relief for job creators and consumers.”

This report by the ITC comes on the heels of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling in December of 2022 that by invoking national security concerns when imposing Section 232 tariffs on aluminum, global trade rules were violated.

The Beer Institute and its counterpart associations in the American beverage industry have been vocal about the damage Section 232 tariffs have done to American brewers and beverage companies. Earlier this month, Beer Institute President and CEO Brian Crawford penned an opinion piece in Bloomberg Tax detailing the harmful effects of aluminum tariffs on the beer industry. In July of last year, the CEOs of America’s biggest brewers sent a letter to President Biden urging him to lift Section 232 tariffs on aluminum. The Beer Institute has long maintained a steady drumbeat emphasizing the damage these tariffs have done and will continue to call on the Biden Administration to deliver relief to American brewers and beverage companies.