‘Not Imminent or Finalized’: Sapporo Pushes Back on White House’s ‘Made in America’ Brag

(Photo: Sapporo)

The White House promoted Sapporo beer as a tariff-driven manufacturing win for the United States, but the Japanese brewer has since clarified that any production shift from Canada remains under consideration and would involve only its non-alcoholic beer.

The White House posted a photo of Sapporo cans to X on Sept. 8 alongside a Bloomberg News headline that read, “Sapporo beer moving production to U.S. from Canada on tariffs.” The post added the caption, “Made in America.”

The Bloomberg headline was later changed to say Sapporo was moving “some production” from Canada to the United States. Bloomberg also added a correction explaining that the original headline was changed to clarify that the shift involved some production, rather than all of it.

Sleeman Breweries, Sapporo’s Canadian subsidiary, clarified the scope of the potential move the same day as the White House post.

“The potential relocation of Sapporo 0.0% production for the U.S. market from Sleeman Breweries’ Canadian facilities to Sapporo USA’s U.S. facilities is not imminent or finalized,” the company said, according to CTV News.

Sleeman said the Canadian-made Sapporo 0.0% volume destined for the U.S. represents about 0.5% of its total production in Canada.

The company reiterated the point in a Sept. 10 statement, saying it has no plans to move its entire Sapporo production from Canada to the United States.

“We are aware that certain media reports have created the impression that Sapporo is moving its production from Canada to the United States,” Sleeman said, according to CTV News. “Sapporo clarifies that no such action will be taken.”

Sleeman also said it remains committed to producing and growing its brands in Canada, including the non-alcoholic beer it brews and sells there. Beer sold by Sleeman in Canada is brewed in Canada, with the exception of 650-milliliter cans of Sapporo Premium that are imported from Vietnam.

The potential relocation comes as Sapporo responds to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. Sapporo Chief Strategy Officer Rieko Shofu told Bloomberg that tariffs were outside the company’s control and discussed moving toward local production for the U.S. market.

Sapporo has also been reviewing its broader U.S. manufacturing footprint. Bloomberg reported that the company is considering additional production capacity on the U.S. West Coast.

The White House post appeared the same day the administration announced additional restrictions on Canadian imports. A separate Sept. 8 presidential proclamation calls for certain Canadian non-alcoholic beer imports to be excluded from the U.S. beginning Sept. 29, while other Canadian products remain subject to tariffs.