The Craft Beverage Modernization Act allows foreign brewers to assign reduced federal excise tax rates to a US importer for a portion of their annual production, provided the foreign brewer qualifies under the production volume thresholds. Importers must work with the foreign producer to claim the reduced rate and maintain documentation supporting the assignment.

Raw malt (a brewing grain product) is classified as an agricultural commodity under a different HTS chapter than finished beer, and it falls under FDA food safety jurisdiction rather than TTB. Finished malt beverages require TTB formula approval and COLA in addition to FDA facility registration, making the compliance stack for finished beer considerably more complex than for the raw ingredient.