CAN TAX GOING TO CRUSH US, CRY BEER MAKERS

Levy on aluminum, steel imports Trump’s shock plan roils markets

AMERICAN BREWERS and beer drinkers were foaming at the mouth Thursday after President Trump proposed a tariff on aluminum imports.

The protectionist measure, geared toward helping the steel and aluminum industries, will lead to a spike in beer prices and layoffs, brewers said.

“American workers and American consumers will suffer as a result of this misguided tariff,” MillerCoors, the country’s second largest beer maker tweeted. “It is likely to lead to job losses across the beer industry.”

Trump, during a White House meeting Thursday with the country’s largest steel and aluminum manufacturers, announced that he would impose a 10% tariff on aluminum and a 25% tariff on steel to counteract a glut of foreign steel and aluminum that has flooded the market and driven down prices.

“Aluminum has been decimated in this country,” the President said. “We’re bringing it back.”

The Beer Institute, a trade association and D.C. drink tank, said the 10% hike on aluminum would cost the industry $347.7 million and more than 20,000 jobs.

The per-can price could hop from 20 cents to 24 cents.

Local breweries were also flat on the idea.

The Bronx’s Gun Hill Brewery co-owner David Lopez said the trade protection could skunk his business.

“If that drives up the cost of our cans, that would not be good for us,” he said. “It would cut into our already thin bottom line.”

The President’s tariff announcement came in response to an increase in foreign steel and aluminum, especially by China.

The Commerce Department said in a report last week that the trade imbalance could limit the military’s access to steel used for weapons and poses a national security threat.

But Canada, not China, sends the most steel into the U.S.

Politicians from the Molsonmanufacturing country scoffed at the stance that it’s a national security issue.

“It is entirely inappropriate to view any trade with Canada as a national security threat to the United States. We will always stand up for Canadian workers and Canadian businesses,” said Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs official Chrystia Freeland.

She said that Canada, which accounts for 16% of the steel imported into this country, would not stand by idly if tariffs kick in.

“Should restrictions be imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum