Coors and Miller Lite are going to war with Trump's tariffs

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May 15, 2018 8:13 PM

Pete Coors, chairman of MoulsonCoors, wrote in an op-ed Tuesday that President Trump's new aluminum tariffs are damaging the beer business — and consumers will pay more because of the measure.

Peter Coors, chairman of Molson Coors, wrote an op-ed Tuesday that attacked President Donald Trump's recent aluminum tariff.
The price of aluminum to make cans increased after Trump's decisions, Coors said.
He said that would drive up prices for beer consumers.
Coors said the tariff is "already hurting businesses across the country."

The chairman of beer giant Molson Coors blasted President Donald Trump over the new tariff on imports of aluminum in an op-ed published Tuesday.

Pete Coors, the executive chairman at the brewer of Coors and Miller Lite, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the price of beer would increase from the tariff.

"A cold can of beer on a hot summer day is as American as it gets," Coors wrote. "But now that experience will cost you more, one of many unfortunate effects of the 10% tariff President Trump imposed on aluminum imports in March."

Trump announced in March that the US would impose a tariff, or a tax on imports, on aluminum coming into the US. The move is projected to drive up costs for industries like brewing, which use raw aluminum to create their final products. In turn, Coors said, consumers will see higher prices in the checkout line.

Coors also said the price of aluminum has already surged — partly because US corporations stocking up on the metal to lock in prices.

"Since January, as the president’s tariff talk intensified, aluminum prices have risen in the U.S., even for domestic aluminum forged from scrap," Coors wrote. "The price index for transport and storage of aluminum has doubled. While some US allies received temporary exemptions, the policy is already hurting businesses across the country."

MillerCoors, the US branch of Molson Coors, was critical of the aluminum tariff in the immediate aftermath of Trump's move.

"We buy as much domestic can sheet aluminum as is available, however, there simply isn’t enough supply to satisfy the demands of American beverage makers like us," MillerCoors said. "American workers and American consumers will suffer as a result of this misguided tariff."

Before exemptions for a handful of US allies, the Beer Institute — an interest group for brewers — estimated the tariff would cost the US beer industry $347.7 million a year. That cost may have been mitigated with exemptions for countries like Canada, which is a large aluminum producer.

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