Trump’s tariff on Canadian aluminum could harm American breweries
Local brewer says he's preparing for potential disruptions
LELAND, NC (WWAY) — President Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum could cause sweeping disruptions to the American alcohol industry when they go into effect on March 12.
According to the US Trade Administration, Canada supplies around 60% of all the aluminum in the US—meaning a tax on Canadian aluminum could make it more expensive for companies to manufacture beer cans domestically.
Jud Watkins owns Wrightsville Beach Brewery and Brunswick Beer and Cider in Leland.
Watkins said he is concerned about a rise in production costs, and added the uncertainty is frustrating for a small businesses like his.
“Where we’re finding ourselves now is–we’re hearing about all this and it’s like, well do we order five to six months just incase, instead of the normal two or three months? The challenge there, for a small business, is how much capital do we want to tie up in something that’s going to sit on a shelf, without beer in it for five to six months? It’s a gamble,” he explained.
In multiple memos, the Brewer’s Association—a national group representing American craft brewers—told its members to brace for a potential rise in cost.
President Donald Trump defending the move, claiming a rise in prices will be temporary.
“Prices could go up somewhat short term, but prices will also go down,” Trump said.
The president’s stated goal is to encourage more manufacturing in the US, but for business owners like Watkins, all of his cans are already made domestically. Only the raw aluminum is imported.
Watkins worries such tariffs could unintentionally harm American companies like the ones that supply his beer cans—rather than encouraging domestic manufacturing
“Now if you wanted to try and transfer even more of those jobs to the US, I could understand, but that’s just not possible in 30 days,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see cooler heads prevail and we’ll see them rescind it.”
