Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Tuesday marks the start of 25% tariffs placed on Canadian imports, which could affect the beer industry here in Western New York.
"It can be a pretty good sized problem for breweries, especially in Western New York," says Tim Herzog, formerly of Flying Bison. "We're so close to the Canadian border that to get supplies from Canada is easier in a lot of cases," noting shipping is a big cost, and shorter distance shipping means lower cost. He says the big bite could come from aluminum, used to make cans. "There's supposed to be a tax on aluminum. Yeah, I kind of use the word tax and tariff interchangeably, because really what the tariffs are going to be a tariff on Canada is a tax on US consumers." He says Canada is not going to pay the tariff nor will the maker of the aluminum can. "It's going to get dumped back on us, and unfortunately, the folks in Washington just don't understand that," says Herzog.
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How much more could you pay? Herzog says that remains to be seen. "Big breweries like Labatt's and Molson, the price will go up, period," says Herzog. "I don't know what their exact economics look like, and they have a much larger volume of beer to spread it out on but if it's a 25% across the board tax, I would have to say that from from where I sit, that people will pay 25% more for this six pack of Labatt. In terms of what it would mean to Flying Bison, a four pack of the new cool beers would go up about $2, and a six pack would probably go up $2 to $2.25."
Herzog says the best advice to try and get President Trump to change his mind is to contact your members of Congress. "The best thing that any and all of us can do is get your voice heard if you don't want to pay another $2 for your six pack, that would be $8 a case for nothing," notes Herzog. "You don't get an extra can of beer. You don't get it shipped any sooner. It's just a tax for no particular reason other than somebody feels wronged in some way that you know people buy beer from Canada,"
Tariffs have also taken effect against Mexico on Tuesday.