Tariffs Hurt Alexandria's Port City Brewing Company, Founder Says

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Tariffs on Canada won't simply affect products made in Canada, according to one Alexandria small business owner.

Port City Brewing Company founder Bill Butcher joined U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) for a news conference on the impact of tariffs. Butcher, along with Richmond-based Reservoir Distillery founder and CEO Dave Cuttino, explained how tariffs hurt their small businesses.

Butcher said Port City and many of the thousands of independent U.S. breweries use Canadian malt. He said this particular type of barley grows in the cold Canadian climate and that there is no suitable substitute ingredient from the U.S.

"Having a 25 percent tariff on our basic ingredient that goes into every single beer is going to push our costs up and unfortunately force us to raise our prices," said Butcher.

For example, Butcher said the price of a $12.99 six-pack would increase to $18.99.

"How many people are still going to want to buy a six-pack of great tasting beer, but at $18.99?" said Butcher.

Due to uncertainty in the supply chain due to tariffs, Port City laid off two workers, which Butcher said represented 10 percent of the full-time workers.

On Feb. 1, President Donald Trump had announced plans for additional 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, as well as 10 percent more on Chinese imports. Trump claimed the impact of undocumented immigrants and drugs such as fentanyl moving across the borders warrants emergency action under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. While some tariffs were delayed and a lesser 10 percent applies to Canadian energy, Wednesday marks the time any exemptions will end. Trump is also expected Wednesday to announce new tariffs against countries that have restrictions on U.S. goods that the president says are not fair, according to CNBC.

Meanwhile, legislation from Kaine, Warner and Klobuchar seeks to roll back the emergency declaration for the 25 percent tariffs on Canada. Democrats, who have said the tariffs will increase costs for businesses and consumers, were working to get some Republicans on board for their resolution. USA Today reported that a few Republicans will support the resolution, potentially providing enough votes for it to pass the Senate.

At a news conference Tuesday, Kaine said tariffs are "a tax on everyday people" noting the tariffs on Canada will affect building materials, groceries and food, fertilizers used by farmers, aluminum and steel for military ships. He also called Canada "a friend, not an adversary."

"While we always have challenges with friends, we have a mechanism that Donald Trump negotiated [in his last term], the [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement], that enables us to work through trade deals, and we don't need tariffs at all," said Kaine.

Kaine called fentanyl a "real emergency" but noted that Trump's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified that the fentanyl emergency is for Mexico and China, not Canada.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.