The Trump administration on Wednesday said it was slapping a 25 per cent tariff on all beer imports, adding the beverage and empty aluminum cans to a list of derivative products subject to its tariffs on aluminum.
The Commerce Department said in a Federal Register notice that duties on beer and empty aluminum cans would be collected starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 4.
The notice revising Trump’s prior aluminum tariff changes lists only the tariff code for beer made from malt. It makes no mention of a subordinate code for beer imports in glass containers.
The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions on the notice. The disclosure comes hours before Trump is expected to announce sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners, escalating a global trade war and fueling expected price increases.
The move would be a substantial hit to beer imports that exceeded US$7.5 billion in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Mexico dominates U.S. beer imports, at US$6.3 billion last year, followed by the Netherlands at US$683 million and Ireland at US$192 million and Canada at US$73 million.
–Reporting by David Lawder, Susand Heavey and Jason Lange; Editing by Anna Driver