The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Canada's beer industry faces a $330-million annual cost increase due to a 25-per-cent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on aluminum. The Globe's Clare O'Hara and Pippa Norman write that this comes on top of a 25-per-cent Canadian tariff on $30-billion worth of U.S. goods, including beer cans. The tariffs raise operational costs for Canadian breweries, according to Beer Canada president CJ Helie.
"This is a universal concern among every brewer in the country right now," said Mr. Helie. His association has 50 members who account for 90 per cent of all domestic beer brewed in Canada. "Canada used to primarily be a refillable [glass] bottle market, and over the last few decades, the market has converted to primarily be an aluminum can market." Today, 85 per cent of packaged beer in Canada is sold in cans, many sourced from a handful of manufacturers in the U.S.
Last year, Canada exported more than $10.6-billion worth of unwrought -- meaning minimally processed -- aluminum to the U.S., which was Canada's top export market for the product by a long shot. Canada produces much of the raw aluminum for beer cans, but lacks key manufacturing tools found in the U.S.
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