Jackie O’s Brewery receives pallets of about 8,000 printed cans from its supplier, fills them with its sustainably crafted beer and seals the cans’ tops.
The brewery buys the cans for about 10 cents each, but that price could go up because of a new tax on aluminum. In late February, President Donald Trump introduced trade tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum. Trump said he hoped to formalize the tariffs this week and would like them to be in effect "for a long period of time."
The Beer Institute, a group that lobbies on behalf of the beer industry, issued a statement criticizing the tariffs. The institute claimed the tariff will create a $347.7 million tax on the nation's beverage industry and result in the loss of 20,291 American jobs, according to third-party research.
“Time will tell” how this tariff will affect Jackie O’s, owner Art Oestrike said, but brewers have been talking about the potential impact.
Oestrick awaits news from the brewery’s can supplier, Ball, about if cans will rise in price.
How the tax will affect local beer seller, Big Mamma’s, is also yet to be seen. Manager Tyler Price said he wouldn’t think prices would rise in the store or supply would change, but he couldn't say for sure.
“I don’t think the owner will take much notice,” he said.
Wes Householder, a junior studying engineering technology, drinks beer often, with Busch Light as his brew of choice. He said an increase of a couple dollars wouldn’t be that bad.
“(It) wouldn’t stop me from drinking,” Householder said.
