SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A brewery in Georgia says it’s facing the sobering reality of how tariffs will impact business.
The workers at Pontoon Brewing in Sandy Springs told WSB-TV that they have already had to pay tens of thousands of dollars.
Although the beer is made on-site, the ingredients and the cans rely on the global network of trade.
“The local aspect of being part of the community is essential to our business,” said Sean O’Keefe, majority owner of Pontoon Brewing.
Despite the beer being locally made, it is globally sourced. So, when tariffs hit, they hit hard.
“We’ve paid over $50,000-$60,000 in physical tariffs,” O’Keefe said.
He said that after the tariff announcement, suppliers let them know prices would increase.
That meant spending more on hops from Germany and malt from Canada, and then there are the cans.
“These are almost exclusively made outside of the United States,” O’Keefe said.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced a 10% baseline tax on all imports, along with higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.
President Trump declared a national economic emergency to launch the tariffs, stating he predicts they will produce hundreds of billions in annual revenues and that this will be a financial turning point for the United States.
“We are going to take in millions in tariffs, we are going to be so rich we won’t know where to spend all that money,” said President Trump.
KIRO 7’s Brooke Griffin spoke with financial advisors who said that’s only partially true, and could mean paying more for everyday items.
“For me and you, the average Joe, can tariffs be beneficial? In the long run, if we have fair trade, it would be great for the United States. In the short run, we will experience inflation on things we buy every day, said Financial Advisor Paul Brahim.
For the average family of four, he says a slightly new budget might be needed.
“The estimate for working families in terms of impact on an annual basis is somewhere around $2,500-5,000 of additional cost to the average U.S. family,” said Brahim.
He said many companies are already raising prices to prepare for the extra tax it takes to import the items. Pontoon Brewing has not stated whether they will raise their prices.
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