New aluminum tariffs could raise the price of a six-pack of beer

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — In response to President Donald Trump saying he plans to put a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products, Jacob Passey, director of brewing operation for Pinthouse Pizza, said Pinthouse is going to “weather the storm until we can’t weather it anymore.”

Passey said production cost could go up a dollar or two for a four-pack, should those tariffs go into place.

Pinthouse Pizza, an Austin company, says 30% of their operations are focused on putting their house-made beer into aluminum cans for retail sale. Their primary provider for the aluminum used in the cans comes from China.

“All the suppliers are pretty set,” Passey said. “We try to use American manufacturers as much as we can but it’s a global economy, the brewing industry is international and it’s going to make things difficult.”

An expected increase

“The whole goal of a tariff is to raise prices to help consumer domestic producers,” University of Texas Government Professor Nathan Jensen said. “It’s funny that I feel partisan saying that, but it’s ‘Trade 101.'”

This isn’t the first time Trump has placed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum. In 2018, he imparted similar tariffs, citing national security concerns.

“The idea is that protecting our domestic producers of steel and aluminum is essential to domestic security,” Travis Tokar, Texas Christian University Professor of Supply Chain Management, said. “However, President Trump has displayed a lot of…using tariffs as leverage.”

Like Jensen, Tokar also said the outcome from a tariff is increased consumer prices. After the first wave of Trump’s tariffs got delayed, Tokar believes Trump may have motives behind the tariffs he’s not sharing with the public.

“That could be apart of his strategy, you don’t want to just lay your cards all on the table,” Tokar says. “As a consumer who’s seen tremendous inflation thanks to the last administration…if there are reasons, if there is something bigger, it’d be nice to know that.”