Tariff Threat Causes Headache for U.S. Beer Lovers

To American fans of Corona and Modelo, two of the country’s most popular beer brands, Trump’s proposed tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico could turn out to be a serious buzzkill. Produced in Mexico by its parent company Constellation Brands, both beers will be hit by the tariff and prices will likely go up.

As the following chart shows, Mexico is by far the largest source of beer imported to the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, beer imports from Mexico amounted to $3.6 billion last year, accounting for roughly two thirds of total beer imports.

Surprisingly even countries famous for their beer-brewing culture, such as Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium, rank far behind Mexico in terms of beer exports to the United States. In many cases, that is owed to the fact that popular beer brands have been bought up by huge conglomerates that let logistics dictate where a beer is brewed. In 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev had to refund American drinkers of the company’s Beck’s brand, which had been marketed as German despite being brewed in St. Louis for the U.S. market.