05-02-2025
Where is your favorite beer made? What Donald Trump's tariffs would mean for Mexican beers
The most popular beer in the United States is brewed in Mexico, raising questions about how President Donald Trump's potential 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports could impact American beer drinkers.
Trump placed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China Saturday, only to pause the Mexican tariffs for a month after reaching a deal with the Mexican government, which will send 10,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light as the United State's best-selling beer in 2023. Modelo beers are exclusively brewed in Mexico, according to the website of Constellation Brands, the company that imports and markets the beer in the U.S.
Constellation Brands also imports Corona beers. Shares of the company fell to their lowest level in four years Monday morning after Trump's Feb. 1 announcement of the tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
Here's where other popular Mexican beers are made and how the tariffs could affect them.
Where is Corona made?
Corona was first brewed by German immigrants in Mexico in 1925. But in 2019, the brand started producing the beer in China, marking the first time the drink was made outside of Mexico, Mexican newspaper El Universal reported. Producing Corona in China and other local markets was driven by the desire to better satisfy demand, according to the article.
Since then, Corona Extra has also been brewed in Germany. Constellation Brands did not respond to an inquiry about where Corona consumed in the U.S. is produced.
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Where is Dos Equis made?
Dos Equis is another popular Mexican beer. Heineken International bought the brand in 2010 from the Mexican brewery that has been producing the beer since 1897.
Dos Equis beer is made and packaged in breweries in Monterrey, Mexico; Irwindale, California; and Amsterdam, according to its website.
Where is Tecate made?
Tecate is named after the town in Baja California, Mexico, where its founder first started brewing the beer in 1944. The brand is brewed and packaged in Monterrey, Mexico, according to its website.
How will Trump's tariffs affect Mexican beer?
Tariffs are paid by the importer in the U.S., who then tends to pass on all or some of the cost to consumers, said Timothy Richards, the Morrison chair of agribusiness at ASU.
From January to June 2024, the U.S. imported $3.2 billion worth of beer from Mexico, according to Mexico Business News. Under Trump's tariffs, all of that would be subject to a 25% tax.
The tariffs wouldn't just affect the final product, either, as most supply chains are not based entirely in one country, according to Dale Rogers, a professor in the supply chain management department at Arizona State University. For instance, tariffs could raise prices for materials like aluminum, which Mexico imports, which would affect the cost of making beer cans before the finished six-pack even reaches the U.S.
"There's no product that's just from one place,' Rogers said.
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