Watch: Beer Institute says American beverage industry paid an additional $458 million on aluminum in 2019 because of tariffs and price spikes

To commemorate Beer Can Appreciation Day (that’s Jan. 24, like you didn’t know), the Beer Institute (a trade group that represents both small and large brewers) released an animated video called “Cracking the Case of Price Spikes,” highlighting transparency issues in the aluminum market and the cost tariffs are passing onto brewers. From the press release:

“America’s brewers purchase more than 36 billion aluminum cans every year, and aluminum is the most significant input cost for our nation’s beer industry,” said Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of Beer Institute. “Due to a combination of tariffs and an obscure aluminum pricing system known as the Midwest Premium, brewers who support more than 2.1 million well-paying jobs across the United States have seen their aluminum costs skyrocket. On Beer Can Appreciation Day, Beer Institute urges beer enthusiasts across the nation to call their elected leaders and urge them to vote for increased transparency in aluminum benchmarking and pricing that follows American market principles.”

Here are some the keys facts the Beer Institute shared:

• Most aluminum beer producers use in the United States is either recycled aluminum or imported from Canada — neither of which should be subject to 10 percent aluminum tariffs implemented by the Administration in March 2018. However, the Midwest Premium more than doubled after implementation of tariffs and brewers are still being charged a full “tariff-paid” premium on all aluminum.
• Between March 2018 and July 2019, the American beverage industry paid an additional $458 million on aluminum it purchased. However, the U.S. treasury only collected $73 million, or 16 percent of that amount.
• Beer Can Appreciation Day marks the day in 1935 when the G. Krueger Brewing Co. first sold beer in cans to the public.
• On January 22, 1959, the seamless all-aluminum can designed by William Coors made its debut with a 7-oz can of Coors Banquet.
• Today, more than 57 percent of beer sold in the United States is in an aluminum container, and aluminum is the largest commodity costs for brewers.