EXCLUSIVE: ‘Artificially increasing’ Miller Lite prices: 62 House lawmakers, led by Rep. Fitzgerald, demand Trump admin probe aluminum costs

A massive bipartisan group of 62 House lawmakers is calling on the Trump administration to investigate an aluminum pricing practice they warn is artificially driving up costs for American manufacturers and consumers, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R., Wis.), who has emerged as a leading congressional champion of efforts to lower costs for American families and businesses, is leading the bipartisan push and told the Reporter exclusively that the current system could even be artificially increasing the price Wisconsinites pay for Miller Lite.

“The Midwest Premium’s incorporation of Section 232 tariffs irrespective of the aluminum’s origin means that purchasers of aluminum, like Molson Coors, end up paying the same rate whether its sourced domestically or from Canada,” Fitzgerald told the Reporter. “I think the Trump Administration ought to be looking into this because it appears to undermine the President’s trade and manufacturing agenda and is artificially increasing the prices Wisconsinites are paying for Miller Lite.”

At issue is the “Midwest Premium,” a pricing benchmark used to estimate the logistical cost of delivering aluminum in the United States. The premium is separate from the global benchmark price for aluminum and affects major American industries, including food and consumer goods, beverages, automobiles, electronics and pharmaceuticals.

The lawmakers warn that the premium currently incorporates President Donald Trump’s 50% aluminum tariff regardless of where the aluminum actually comes from.

That means even American-made and recycled aluminum can effectively be priced as though the tariff applies to it.

“Put simply, even users of domestically-sourced aluminum are paying the Section 232 aluminum tariff, because it is baked into the Midwest Premium,” the lawmakers wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Fitzgerald and his colleagues argue that could undermine the purpose of Trump’s trade policies. Rather than simply making foreign aluminum more expensive and encouraging manufacturers to buy American, the pricing mechanism can increase the price paid by companies using domestic aluminum as well.

The lawmakers warn the practice is “unnecessarily inflating prices” and, together with supply constraints, has contributed to record-high aluminum costs. The impact could be particularly significant for companies relying on recycled aluminum. More than 70% of the aluminum used in beverage cans, for example, is recycled.

Fitzgerald’s push has attracted an unusually broad coalition on Capitol Hill.

The 62 signatories include Republicans and Democrats from across the country, including Reps. Richard Hudson (R., N.C.), Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), Sylvia Garcia (D., Texas), Sanford Bishop (D., Ga.), Brittany Pettersen (D., Colo.), Harriet Hageman (R., Wyo.), Darin LaHood (R., Ill.), Julia Letlow (R., La.), Robert Wittman (R., Va.), Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.), Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.) and Carlos Gimenez (R., Fla.).
The lawmakers are asking the Commerce Department, in consultation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other agencies, to investigate how the Midwest Premium is calculated, whether its price-reporting methodologies are appropriate and how the system affects recycled aluminum.

The coalition argues that addressing the issue could advance two of the Trump administration’s biggest economic priorities at once: strengthening American manufacturing and lowering costs.

An investigation, they wrote, could help restore balance to the aluminum market by “strengthening domestic production, supporting downstream manufacturing, and maintaining affordability for American families.”