Beer Institute Urges President Trump Not to Impose Mexican Import Tax
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jim McGreevy, Beer Institute President and CEO, issued the following statement on President Trump’s proposed tariff on Mexican imports – including beer:
“The Beer Institute and its members urge President Trump and his administration to reconsider imposing another tax on the beer industry.
“The beer industry is a thriving economic engine for America. Imposing a tax – and tariffs are taxes – on the largest import country of the beer industry would harm the 2.1 million Americans who owe their livelihoods to beer. Whether it be the truck driver, farmer, distributor, local retailer or favorite tavern, every community in America will be affected by this decision.
“The last thing we need is more hardship imposed on the beer industry and American beer drinkers.”
By the end of the year, America will have imported more than 360 million cases of Mexican beer. Most Mexican beer sold in this country is made from barley and hops grown in the United States. Beer accounted for more than 1 percent of Mexican goods imported into the United States last year – that’s $3.6 billion out of $346.5 billion.
The proposed tariff, which will start at 5 percent of the import value and increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent, will constitute a $12.5 million cost increase to beer industry importers during the month of June alone, and that cost will reach $374 million by the end of 2019. If the tariff remains at 25 percent, the cost to the beer industry will be $984 million per year.
###
The Beer Institute is a national trade association for the American brewing industry, representing brewers of all sizes, as well as beer importers and industry suppliers. First founded in 1862 as the U.S. Brewers Association, the Beer Institute is committed today to the development of sound public policy and to the values of civic duty and personal responsibility. For additional updates from the Beer Institute, visit our website, follow @BeerInstitute on Twitter, like the Beer Institute on Facebook, and follow the Beer Institute on Instagram.
