Why It Matters
Heineken USA Inc. reported $140,000 in third-quarter 2026 lobbying on "issues related to tariffs," the only issue listed in its filing. Heineken USA imports beer brewed abroad for sale in the United States, making import-cost policy a direct operating concern. For trade-policy trackers, the filing puts Heineken on record as an active in-house voice on the import-cost questions that shape the price of beer on American shelves.
By the Numbers
The $140,000 third-quarter report, signed Oct. 8, is down $10,000 from the second-quarter total of $150,000. A year earlier, in the third quarter of 2025, Heineken's combined total across two registrants, an in-house filing and a Squire Patton Boggs report, was $240,000, making the current quarter down $100,000 from that period.
The sole lobbyist on the filing is David Morgenstern, Heineken USA's senior director, government affairs, whose record lists member experience with Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and prior government experience. No lobbyists were added or dropped from the prior quarter, and no outside firm supplements Morgenstern's work on this filing.
Broader Context
On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the challenged tariffs, and on the same date the President issued a proclamation imposing a temporary 10% import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act, effective Feb. 24 for 150 days. A separate executive order ended certain tariff actions following the ruling. The 150-day Section 122 surcharge, if not extended or replaced, would have lapsed in late July 2026 (on or about July 24, counting 150 days from Feb. 24), a deadline that fell within the third-quarter period this filing covers.
In Congress, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) introduced S. 5390, the End Trump's Tariff Tax Act, on Sept. 14, 2026, with 29 cosponsors; it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee with no House companion listed. Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY) introduced H.J.Res. 150 to terminate the national emergency declared to impose global tariffs; it was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee with no Senate companion listed. Neither measure has advanced beyond its referral committee.
The Brewers Association reported that U.S. alcohol-beverage exports to Canada fell about 81 percent between March 2025 and February 2026 amid provincial bans, citing a figure attributed to the White House. A University of Illinois analysis by researcher A.J. Staples and coauthors estimated that higher prices would reduce consumer welfare by $53.1 million to $306.4 million, depending on the scenario.
The Bottom Line
Heineken USA Inc.'s in-house filings reported $200,000 in lobbying in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $140,000 in the third quarter of 2026, and the issue codes narrowed to tariffs (TRD) alone beginning in the first quarter of 2026. S. 5390 and H.J.Res. 150 both sit in committee with no floor votes scheduled; bills that do not clear the 119th Congress before it adjourns will lapse and require reintroduction in the next Congress.
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