STATEWIDE — If you are one to crack open a cold one, it could get more costly thanks to the president’s decision to levy steel and aluminum tariffs on some U.S. allies.

Companies that make beer and soda rely heavily on aluminum cans, which means price are likely to rise. Manufacturers are expected to bear the brunt of the price increases.

Last year, U.S. beer brewers purchased $36 billion aluminum cans and bottles according to the Beer Institute, a national trade association for the beer industry. It estimates that the tariffs on imported aluminum and steel will cost US brewers about $347 million a year.

“We estimate that 2.2 million Americans owe their livelihoods in one way or another to the production, distribution and sale of beer,” Jim McGreevy, president of the Beer Institute, said. “That’s 165,000 people in Texas alone where there are now 330 breweries all across the state.”

McGreevy estimates 20,000 jobs in the industry could be lost because of the tariffs.

The commerce secretary has said that the tariffs will amount to pennies per can. But McGreevy said that adds up fast when you’re buying $36 billion aluminum cans per year.

McGreevy said it’s too early to tell what exactly it will mean for the consumer and whether beer will be more expensive.

The tariffs come just months after a federal tax overhaul. McGreevy said some manufacturers may choose to divert the increased funding they gained from the business tax cut to their higher materials costs instead of using the savings to hire more workers and invest in products.

Click the video link above to watch the full interview with McGreevy.

Learn more about other issues affecting people across Texas on Capital Tonight airing Monday through Friday at 7 p.m., on channels 1, 8, and 200 in Austin and 14 and 200 in San Antonio. Stick with Spectrum News for continuing 2018 election coverage.