Government Affairs

In this week’s Last Call: Founders Brewing is sued for alleged racial discrimination; the New Jersey ABC suspends its taproom ruling; the Beer Institute expresses disappointment in continued aluminum tariffs; and more news.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Boston Beer founder Jim Koch dines with President Trump; Buffalo Wild Wings considers sports betting; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s ties to a Montana brewery project come under scrutiny; a federal appeals court rejects a challenge to the MegaBrew merger; and more news.

A bipartisan group of Congressional members have called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate potential irregularities in the aluminum market, which they say are causing the price of the metal used in beverage cans to surge. In the letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) and 31 additional congressional members pointed to “sharp increases” in the Midwest Premium — which represents the full logistics costs of shipping and storing metal in the U.S. — as the potential cause of aluminum pricing irregularities.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: MillerCoors says the Trump tariffs will cost it $40 million; Magnolia founder Dave McLean leaves the company; Jester King takes on employee owners; brewery closures in Chicago, Washington and Virginia; and more news.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: President Trump says he may support bill to end the federal marijuana ban; new brewery trademark lawsuits emerge; breweries close in Colorado and New Hampshire; and more.

As the clock turned to midnight, the exemption on aluminum and steel tariffs expired on Canada, the European Union and Mexico. The levies imposed by President Donald Trump — 25 percent on foreign steel and 10 percent on aluminum — will now be collected from the nation’s trade allies, who have subsequently threatened to impose their own tariffs on U.S. exports. Brewbound stopped by the Beer Institute’s Washington, D.C., offices to discuss the news with CEO Jim McGreevy. Watch the video above.

In the continued fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel, the Beer Institute (BI) is now calling on the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate anticompetitive activity in the aluminum market.

Molson Coors Brewing Co. chairman Pete Coors is grabbing headlines for the second consecutive week. Last Monday, Coors issued an “open letter” to the Brewers Association, chastising the trade group’s leaders over negative comments made about “big beer” during the annual Craft Brewers Conference. Now, Coors has scored himself an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, and he’s turned his focus toward President Donald Trump and a recently imposed 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s new menu labeling rules took effect today, ushering in a new wave of requirements for chain retailers. Going forward, chain restaurants, grocery outlets, and convenience stores with more than 20 locations will be required to post caloric and nutritional information for beer as well as other food and drinks sold on-premise that are considered “standard menu items.”

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Shipyard Brewing looks to pivot in Portland; the TTB collects record offer for alleged trade practice violations; Molson Coors reports Q2 earnings; and more.

Concerns over potential price gouging are mounting after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday to impose a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, four beverage trade groups — the Beer Institute (BI), Brewers Association (BA), Can Manufacturers Association (CMI) and American Beverage Association — cited “major concerns about how the 10 percent tariff could cause price-gouging within aluminum markets.”

In a move that would have wide-ranging effects on the beer industry, President Donald Trump yesterday announced plans to implement a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. The move comes weeks after the Commerce Department recommended tariffs on aluminum and steel as a national security precaution, citing the nation’s inability to build military weapons without foreign steel and aluminum.

The U.S. Congress voted along party lines to pass the Republicans’ $1.5 trillion rewrite of the federal tax code, which includes two years of excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law before the end of the week.

Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives agreed over the weekend on a sweeping rewrite of the U.S. tax code that will include excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) survived a conference committee of the House and Senate and will be included in the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill will now receive a final congressional vote — the Senate could vote as early as Tuesday — before advancing to President Donald Trump’s desk for approval.