Tariff increase could impact the price you pay at local breweries

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A 25% tariff will be put on all steel and aluminum imports in the United States.

The Trump Administration made this announcement last week and it will affect many businesses.

Local breweries use steel and aluminum to store and serve their beers made in-house.

WECT talked with Wrightsville Beach Brewery, one of many businesses in the area that could be impacted by the tariff.

“There will be some price increases for breweries smaller than us, breweries our size, breweries bigger than us. We don’t know how much yet,” says Jud Watkins, owner of Wrightsville Beach Brewery.

Watkins says they use stainless steel containers to hold their beer while it’s fermenting, then it’s transferred into aluminum cans.

“We are fortunate enough that we are not in the middle of an order for a lot of tanks. I think we’ll be alright for the stainless steel side of it but down the road some of the parts we may see go up,” says Watkins.

Watkins says his concern about cost is their cans. He is jumping ahead of the price increase problem by rolling out new cans made at a lower cost.