Beer Institute Applauds Reintroduction of Aluminum Pricing Examination Act

WASHINGTON, June 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Beer Institute released the following statement today praising Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) for reintroducing the Aluminum Pricing Examination (APEX) Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Department of Justice's (DOJ) oversight authorities over aluminum price benchmarking entities, including those that publish the Midwest Premium. Under current law, no federal agency has direct oversight of businesses that assess and publish aluminum benchmark prices. The APEX Act addresses this problem by providing much-needed oversight authority over these businesses.

"The Beer Institute commends Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) for the reintroduction of the APEX Act, which will bring much-needed transparency to the aluminum pricing process," said Brian Crawford, president and CEO of the Beer Institute. "Aluminum is the single largest input cost in American beer manufacturing, and this legislation will provide pricing clarity and certainty to countless U.S. industries, and to many American consumers, that depend on aluminum, including beer."

U.S. brewers continue to face high costs due to the Section 232 aluminum tariffs, unprecedented inflation and supply chain disruptions. During the pandemic, demand for aluminum bottles and cans skyrocketed, and now more than 74 percent of all beer produced in the United States is packaged in an aluminum can or bottle.

According to Beer Serves America, the beer industry's biennial economic report conducted by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the beer industry contributes more than $409 billion in annual economic impact and supports nearly 2.4 million jobs nationwide. Those jobs include 92,159 brewer and beer importer jobs, 77,847 manufacturing jobs, 137,420 distribution jobs, 52,220 agricultural jobs and 979,805 retail jobs.

Research conducted by HARBOR Aluminum on behalf of the Beer Institute found that the U.S. beverage industry paid $1.893 billion in Section 232 tariffs on 9.042 million metric tons of aluminum since their implementation. Of that amount, only $126 million (7 percent) went to the U.S. Treasury. HARBOR Aluminum estimates U.S. rolling mills, U.S. smelters and Canadian smelters received $1.767 billion (93 percent) of the total by charging end-users – such as U.S. brewers – a tariff-burdened price regardless of whether the metal was meant to be tariffed based on its content or origin.

Last July, the CEOs of four of America's largest brewers sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to repeal Section 232 tariffs on aluminum. They said, "tariffs reverberate throughout the supply chain, raising production costs for aluminum end-users and ultimately impacting consumer prices."

S.1850 is similar to H.R.2698 and S.2462, bipartisan and bicameral legislation introduced in the 117th Congress.

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The Beer Institute is a national trade association for the American brewing industry, representing brewers, beer importers and industry suppliers—an industry that supports nearly 2.4 million jobs and provides more than $409 billion to the American economy. First founded in 1862 as the U.S. Brewers Association, the Beer Institute is committed today to developing sound public policy and to the values of civic duty and personal responsibility. For additional updates from the Beer Institute, visit our website, follow @BeerInstitute on Twitter, like the Beer Institute on Facebook, and follow the Beer Institute on Instagram.