Several beverage alcohol trade groups are speaking out against a bill that would grant the U.S. Postal Service the ability to ship beer, wine and spirits.
In a public statement and letter to Congress, the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), American Beverage Licensees, American Distilled Spirits Alliance, and Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America urged Congress not to allow the USPS to ship alcoholic beverages.
They argued that granting the USPS this permission would “compromise the public health and safety priorities established by existing law, including increasing the risk of tainted and bootleg alcohol in the marketplace; undermining over 85 years of effective state-based alcohol regulation; adversely affecting excise tax collection and much-needed revenue; undoing long-standing coordination of federal and state alcohol policy; and creating USPS costs, without offering a meaningful solution to the significant financial needs of the USPS.”
However, the USPS Shipping Equity Act (H.R. 2517), the bill the organizations are opposing, has not been introduced in the House of Representatives since the 117th Congress began last month.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) last introduced the bill on May 3, 2019, when it was referred to the House oversight and reform committee and the judiciary committee. The judiciary committee referred it to the subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security on May 31, 2019, and no further official action was recorded. Other versions of the bill were introduced in 2017 and 2015 and met similar fates.
The bill proposed that a “covered entity” — meaning a winery, brewery, distillery, wholesaler or retailer that has obtained a permit or approval from the Department of the Treasury under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act or the Internal Revenue Code — could mail alcoholic beverages “in accordance with the delivery requirements otherwise applicable to a privately carried shipment.” Currently, only private shipping services, such as UPS and FedEx, can handle alcohol shipments.
Were the USPS to be allowed to ship alcohol, it would have to enact several regulations to protect the process, including:
- “requiring such mailing to be through a means that ensures direct delivery to a duly authorized agent at a postal facility or to the addressee, who must be at least 21 years of age and present a valid, government-issued photo identification at the time of delivery;”
- “prohibiting such alcoholic beverages from being for resale or any other commercial purpose;”
- “requiring such covered entity to certify that the mailing is not in violation of applicable laws or regulations and to provide other information as directed by the USPS, including with respect to the prepayment of state alcohol beverage taxes.”
The USPS’s financial struggles have been well-documented. Its net losses for the 2020 fiscal year totaled $9.2 billion, $363 million more than it lost in fiscal year 2019.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic caused bars, restaurants and brewery taprooms to close or drastically reduce capacity, many craft breweries have begun using direct-to-consumer shipments to buoy sales. An additional shipping partner could make the process more convenient.
“We’re always open to looking at things that can help our members get their product out,” Brewers Association director of federal affairs Katie Marisic told Brewbound.
Brandon Boldt, co-owner of Longmont, Colorado-based Primitive Beer, told Brewbound that an additional direct-to-consumer shipping option would help his business, which ships its offerings to consumers in 22 states.
“An additional direct-to-consumer choice that doesn’t require a private third-party would be super advantageous,” he said.
In Colorado, craft distributor Culture Beverage sells Primitive’s offerings, but DTC shipments account for 35% of the brewery’s monthly volume on average in 2020, Boldt said. In some months, DTC accounted for as much as 65% of Primitive’s volume.
“The USPS is an extremely valuable democratizing institution whose worth supersedes shipping services,” Boldt said. “We’ve long mused about the rejuvenating funds that legal alcohol shipping could generate.”