Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America said Treasury’s report “fails to recognize how consolidation in other tiers created the need for an evolution of the distribution tier to address supply chain and logistics challenges.” But WSWA said it was “encouraged (that) maintaining a strong, independent wholesale tier remains critical to federal and state regulators.” The wholesaler tier is highly competitive and modeled on efficient and effective logistics that “save the other two tiers more than $11 billion annually and created a craft brand selection at the retail level that is unrivaled.”
WSWA applauded Treasury for recognizing that trade practice regulations need to be clear and enforceable. “When enforced evenly against all industry participants, large and small, trade practice regulations are an effective tool for the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) in maintaining a fair marketplace.” TTB should consider all industry viewpoints in changing the regulations, WSWA added.
The trade group expressed concern that “direct-to-consumer shipment of alcohol drastically increases underage access to socially sensitive products” and emphasized this issue was one for state legislatures to decide.
Meanwhile, Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. noted “there remain a number of laws and regulations that continue to discriminate against spirits producers and our consumers, from taxation to market access, that should be revised to improve competition in our modern economy.”
Beer Institute President/CEO Jim McGreevy said brewers are “disappointed by the Administration’s mischaracterization of the thriving American beer industry. The American beer industry is one of the most vibrant industries in the country. Since 2010, we have seen more than 10,000 new breweries permitted, and today–from agriculture and manufacturing to construction and transportation, the beer industry supports more than two million American jobs and contributes more than $331 billion to the nation’s economy. Consumers are benefiting from the growing number of brewers and beer importers, with more choices for beer than at any other time in our nation’s history.
“Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a nearly $20 billion reduction in retail beer sales and a loss of nearly 570,000 jobs that depend on the beer industry, our nation’s brewers and beer importers continue to invest in their communities, support local jobs, and aid people in need,” he said, adding:
“Despite being one of the most regulated industries in the United States, the beer industry is experiencing an unprecedented level of healthy competition. It will continue to grow and innovate so it can best serve the millions of Americans who make beer America’s favorite beverage alcohol.”
Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that beer prices have remained low even during a historic period of inflation. This trend of low beer prices continued last year, as beer’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) trailed overall CPI 1.8% to 4.7% on average in 2021, Beer Institute noted.