mr. pease. mr. pease: i think you have to examine the question from a variety of perspectives. company that could come out of this merger will now control 50% of the global -- 58% of the global profit industry. this is the fourth largest merger of all time. thatiggest concern will be a company like this will be able to use it increased market power influence they independent distributors that abi interacts with. the incentive programs currently in place while the certainly in the stand -- understand that it seems to us at some levels some of those programs are more designed to encourage to strip it is not to sell products of the independent smaller players. we feel that is anti-competitive. > i would echo the sentiment as it relates to the global profit pool. by comparison, sorry, if you look at the distinction -- with debate combined abi sab of its largest american contributor -- competitor, that disparate comparative disadvantage as it relates the share of the global profit pool. you have to lo

mr. pease. >> mr. chairman, senator klobuchar, chairman grassley, members of the subcommittee. good morning, my name is bob pease. i'm the chief executive officer of the brewers association. my organization represents over 2,800 small and independent craft breweries and over 1,100 industry suppliers. my members are located in every state and in virtually every congressional district. at the outset i would like to make it perfectly clear that the brewers association is not opposed to fair competition. my members have built thousands of successful small and medium-sized businesses from scratch and in a very competitive environment. many others have failed at great personal loss. we understand that antitrust laws were designed to protect competition and they are not designed to protect any specific individual company or segment of the industry. the proposed acquisition of south african breweries of anheuser-busch inbev must be viewed in light of other developments affecting the beer industry. to u

mr. pease. mr. pease: i think you have to examine the question from a variety of perspectives. company that could come out of this merger will now control 50% of the global -- 58% of the global profit industry. this is the fourth largest merger of all time. thatiggest concern will be a company like this will be able to use it increased market power influence they independent distributors that abi interacts with. the incentive programs currently in place while the certainly in the stand -- understand that it seems to us at some levels some of those programs are more designed to encourage to strip it is not to sell products of the independent smaller players. we feel that is anti-competitive. > i would echo the sentiment as it relates to the global profit pool. by comparison, sorry, if you look at the distinction -- with debate combined abi sab of its largest american contributor -- competitor, that disparate comparative disadvantage as it relates the share of the global profit pool. you have to lo

mr. pease, forgive me. nobody wants to take a seat at a bar and discover their only choices are between a bud and a miller. opportunities for consumers and in the jobs that they create. and i found the testimony encouraging. i'd be interested in hearing your view on the huge international companies and their potential mergers may or may not impact. breweries and the impact on consumers. have your companies faced competition or challenges due not only to distributors but due to some of their use of market pressure. >> thank you, senator. i think you have to look at that from a variety of different levels. fundamentally mr. brito and i probably differ on the degree of independence that currently exists at the distribution tier. i think everyone has to keep in mind that my members by and large are required by state-based regulation to use a distributor to get their beer effectively to a retailer. it is an option in some states but usually that is very limited. if you want to grow your business as

mr. pease, forgive me. nobody wants to take a seat at a growing. one last comment. we've been in the business since 1852 so more than 160 years and together with our wholesalers we built a whole system, trucks, warehouses, to get from brewers to shelves and the craft brewers have been enjoying that system set by others. and the impact on consumers. have you companies faced competition or challenges not only to ownership and distribute ers, but doo to their pressure? >> thank you, senator. i think there's again, look at that question for a variety of different levels. i think everyone has to keep in mind my member, by and larnl, are required by state based regulation to use a distributor to get their beer. to a retailer. self-distribution is an option in some states, but usually, that is very limited. if you want to grow your business as a craft brewer, get it into a chain store, a stadium, you news to huz the anheuser-busch or miller coors distributor. in most markets that have the horsepower t

mr. pease. >> mr. chairman, senator klobuchar, chairman grassley, members of the subcommittee. od morning, my name is bob pease. i'm the chief executive officer of brewers association. my organization represents over 2,800 small and independent craft breweries and over 1,100 industry suppliers. my members are located in every state and in virtually every congressional district. at the outset i would like to make it perfectly clear that the brewers association is not opposed to fair competition. my members have built thousands of successful small and medium-sized businesses from scratch and are very competitive environment. many others have failed at great personal loss. we understand that anti trust laws were designed to protect competition and they are not designed to protect any specific individual company or segment of the industry. the proposed acquisition of south african breweries of anheuser-busch in bev must be viewed in light of other developments affecting the beer industry. to understand the landscape, we need to look at the basic beer framework. alcohol laws authoriz