(The Center Square) – Craft brewers in Pennsylvania said Wednesday they fear the impact of the President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
From the beer’s ingredients to the very aluminum cans it’s packaged in, the incoming cost spike feels inevitable, they say. And it’s a reality Gov. Josh Shapiro acknowledged during a visit to Fegley’s Brew Works in Bethlehem.
The former steel town is no stranger to changing economic headwinds. When the local mill closed its doors and left thousands without jobs, smaller businesses filled the gap. Fegley’s is one of more than 500 craft breweries in Pennsylvania, which leads as one of the nation’s top producers.
“This tariff war that he is starting, this button that he is pushing is going to have one effect and that effect is to drive up costs on consumers and businesses throughout Pennsylvania at a time where they can’t afford that,” Shapiro said. “And it’s going to make our lives way more difficult and it’s going to make it harder for us to be able to cut costs for small businesses that I know could use a break.”
The comments come just hours before the president was scheduled to reveal the details of his tariff plan, calling Wednesday “Liberation Day” for American trade.
Opposition to enacting tariffs is bipartisan. While some lawmakers say it’s nothing but a tax on middle class families, others – like Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul – say free trade has made the country “very rich.”
The president dismissed Paul and his Republican critics as “weak.”
Trump said he hopes to bring in $600 billion to $1 trillion in tariff revenue in the next year or two. He also predicts his protectionist trade policies will create jobs, make the nation rich and help reduce trade deficits and the federal government’s persistent deficits.
Some economists have predicted Trump’s tariffs could mean higher prices for U.S. consumers. The Budget Lab at Yale modeled a broad 20% but noted, “It is highly uncertain whether this is the policy that will be announced April 2.” The model suggests that prices would by 2.1% to 2.6% in the short run, the equivalent of an average per household consumer cost of $3,400 to 4,200 in 2024 dollars.
