What's the Tariff on Beer (Imported)?

Imported beer's 10% tariff marks the first time in modern history that beer imports face meaningful trade barriers. Mexico dominates US beer imports through Corona, Modelo, and Dos Equis — brands owned by Constellation Brands, an American company that imports from Mexican breweries. This creates an unusual dynamic where a US corporation bears the tariff cost on products brewed by its own subsidiary. The Netherlands (Heineken) and Belgium (Stella Artois, through AB InBev) are the next largest sources. The 10% baseline tariff sounds modest, but beer is a high-volume, low-margin product — even small per-unit increases compound across billions of bottles. Constellation Brands imports over 300 million cases annually from Mexico, making it the single largest beverage importer in the US. The tariff may accelerate the craft beer movement's advantage, as domestic microbreweries face no import duties.