Now the global brewing industry is also affected by Trump's love of tariffs.
25 per cent
The US government under President Trump has announced that from tomorrow, 4 April, it will impose a 25% tariff on all imported beer cans and empty aluminium cans - regardless of the country of origin. This measure is part of an expanded aluminium tariff regulation originally published in February. In addition, Trump announced further tariffs of 10% on all imports and 20% specifically on EU goods, although it remains unclear whether these will also apply and how exactly bottled and draught beer will be affected.
Data on beer imports
According to current data, cans make up 38.5% of beer imports, bottles 56.4% and draught beer 5.1%. The company most affected by the new tariffs is Constellation Brands, which is responsible for the largest share of imported beer. Other major importers such as Heineken and Diageo are also facing a noticeable impact.
Beer imports to the USA had a total value of over 7.5 billion dollars in 2024 - Mexico alone supplied goods worth 6.3 billion dollars. Although the tariffs could shift competition in favour of American breweries, they too must expect rising aluminium costs. Wine and spirits could also be affected in the future.
Effects
It remains to be seen whether importers will bear the tariffs themselves or pass the costs on to consumers - and how this will affect the market overall. It will also be interesting to see how many goods have already been imported into the USA in advance and what reactions (e.g. retaliatory tariffs) can be expected from international partners.
Source: Brewers Association
Photo: BeerTasting & KI
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