1st BATCH OF FILES AVAILABLE NOW!

It's a big blow to the Trump Administration, tho not necessarily a big win for all of bev alc. This morn, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump&#39;s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are illegal by a vote of 6-3, striking down many of the sweeping levies on US trade partners. But don't expect this saga to end any time soon, as metal tariffs remain in place and Trump already said he'll impose a 10% global tariff under different authorities. The ruling was no doubt a sigh of relief for many businesses, even as USMCA-compliant imports from Mexico and Canada have generally remained exempt. But crucially, 50% tariffs on aluminum, steel and copper, imposed as separate national security provisions under Section 232 trade law, are still in effect and unimpacted by this ruling. (Unlike IEEPA, Section 232 explicitly mentions the president's power to adjust imports.) That means the tariff impacts most widely felt by craft brewers &mdash; increased prices of aluminum cans &mdash; remain in place for now. Tho there's been recent talk of rolling back those metal tariffs to help with affordability ahead of midterm elections.Still, the administration is moving quickly to recreate similar levies via alternate methods. In addition to noting that all existing Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs (used for fighting unfair trade practices) remain in place, President Trump posted to Truth Social that "today I will sign an Order to impose a 10% GLOBAL TARIFF, under Section 122, over and above our normal TARIFFS already being charged, and we are also initiating several Section 301 and other Investigations to protect our Country from unfair Trading practices."Section 122 tariffs reportedly allow for a surcharge of up to 15% on all imports for 150 days, at which point Congress would have to vote to extend. So while it's unclear how exactly the revamped efforts will come to life, there's no guarantee that the alternative will be better than the status quo. Note too that amidst all the back and forth on tariffs, the US trade deficit hit a record high for physical goods last year.Let the Great Refunding Begin? Not so fast. Tho in any case, let's hope folks kept their receipts. The total amount collected under IEEPA could be upwards of $175 bil, Reuters reports, and that "likely would need to be refunded" following the Sup Ct ruling. Whether that will actually happen remains unclear at press time. But if it does come to pass, "refunds are not automatic. Any importer that wants its money back must sue individually," according to the NY Times. The US Court of International Trade would ultimately manage that in a process that could take years to play out.Expect Tariffs to Remain a Hot Topic "The Brewers Association will work to learn more about how this ruling might shift Congress's position on tariffs going forward," prexy and ceo Bart Watson wrote in a govt affairs update today. "What role Congress chooses to play and how much they align with the administration versus insert their own policy preferences" remains to be seen. But the impact of tariffs is sure to be a hot topic during the org's Hill Climb next week.

Sup Ct Strikes Down Trump's Emergency Tariffs; What Comes Next?

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