US President Donald Trump is being urged by trade unionists to make some of America’s biggest beer brands “a lot more American”. But what is provoking the rift with Mexico over imported beer? db looks at the argument.
One of the country’s largest unions, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, wants Trump to impose tariffs on Mexican beer and has reportedly stated that more of it should be brewed by US workers instead of being made across the border.
Advantages or disadvantages?
According to reports across the US, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is now urging the administration to impose “significant tariffs” on Mexican beer and has made the request as the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) continues to assess whether certain countries’ policies have contributed to what are being levelled as “unfair manufacturing advantages”.
Fox News also recently reported that Teamsters members have argued that Mexico has assisted its brewing industry through government-backed investment incentives, lower labour costs and export-focused policies. The union has purportedly also insisted this has expanded production and exports for Mexico and essentially helped imported beer capture a growing share of the US market.
The suggested tariff push could, according to local reports, have knock-on implications for some of the US’s best-known imported beer brands such as the AB InBev-owned Modelo, Corona and Pacifico as well as the Heineken-owned brand Tecate all of which are currently brewed in Mexico before being shipped to US retailers.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien told Fox News: “We can brew Modelo beer. It’s the same recipe. Let’s brew it in the United States.”
O’Brien insisted that the US should take over the brewing since “we are very good at producing goods and services in this country”.
Could beer production shift back to the US?
In its filing, the union flagged that Mexican beer production has increased 85% since 2014, with about 80% of the country’s beer exports shipped to the US. Additionally, at the same time, capacity utilisation at major US breweries fell from 82% in 2013 to 65% in 2023, a trend the Teamsters lobbyists have said are now a threat to jobs.
According to the union, tariffs would help shift more beer production back to the US, supporting US breweries, farmers and packaging businesses as well as those who oversee distribution.
O’ Brien added: “I’m pro-America, pro-American worker, pro American jobs. So if there’s an opportunity to tariff Mexican beer in this situation, which is going to provide opportunity for our current members, which we have tens of thousands in the brewery and distribution industry, then I’m all for tariffs and all for keeping American jobs in America.”
The Teamsters told local news outlets that the threat to US brewery jobs is continuing to grow as major brewers still invest billions of dollars into Mexico.
Potential trade actions anticipated
According to a recent filing from the union, there are already plans for breweries to add another 19 million to 23 million hectolitres of production capacity over the next five years, an expansion it has said attributes to export-focused tax incentives, lower labour costs and industrial policies aimed at boosting manufacturing for foreign markets. The filing also is said to have cited Mexico’s 2023 tax incentives for export-oriented manufacturers and its broader Plan México industrial strategy.
The Teamsters’ filing is one of several submitted as USTR weighs potential trade actions under its ongoing Section 301 investigation. The union has publicly backed tariffs as high as 75% on Mexican beer imports.
The USTR has been contacted by db for full disclosure on how far-reaching the considerations are gathering pace in government as well as AB InBev and Heineken breweries with brewing arms in Mexico that currently import beer into the US.
Related news
Sober raves, booze-free beer: why South Koreans are shunning alcohol
US beer sales skyrocket during the World Cup
Osaka scientists develop wild yeast that boosts ornithine in craft beer
