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A local brewery weathered the first round of tariffs on aluminum from President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year. Now, they’re bracing again for the effects of the latest — a decision to double the tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%.
Thor Cheston, the cofounder of D.C.-based Right Proper Brewing Company, told WTOP that the cost of nearly all the materials that go into producing and packaging have gone up. Specifically, the cost of aluminum — 60% of the beer he produces comes in cans — has gone up by 8%.
Instead of passing that added cost on to consumers, Cheston said, “For us to stay competitive, we have to price our products in a competitive manner. We can’t really afford to increase our prices if our competitors are not also increasing their prices.”
The actual impact of the latest tariff increases won’t be clear for a while, and Cheston said, “I can’t follow the news, because it depresses me.”
That said, he keeps in close touch with his suppliers, who themselves are trying to gauge the impact of the change announced Wednesday.
Cheston is also in contact with smaller brewery operators, and said “they’re very stressed out” and many are “seeing flat numbers.”
“Overall, our industry is reporting reductions in the amount of beer that’s shipped to retailers,” he said.
Despite the ups and downs of the tariffs, Cheston said his business is doing well.
“Sales are up, we’re having a great year in terms of revenue,” he said.
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Much of that is due to running a very lean business and careful planning.
“It’s taken a decade of very, very hard work to get us to this point,” Cheston said. “Our secret to success is doing the best we can with the resources that we have today.”
Looking ahead, Cheston is a bit guarded: “We really don’t have too much wiggle room.”
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