The Teamsters are urging Trump to impose a tax on Mexican beer sales

One of the largest labor unions in the country wants President Donald Trump to make one of America’s biggest purchases more American.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is urging the administration to impose higher tariffs on Mexican beer, arguing that more of it should be made by American workers instead of across the border.

The request comes as the Office of the US Trade Representative continues to examine whether certain countries’ policies have fueled unfair manufacturing benefits.

The Teamsters say Mexico has boosted the beer industry through government-backed investment incentives, low labor costs and export-oriented policies that have increased production and exports, helping imported beer capture a growing share of the U.S. market.

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The tariff push could affect some of America’s most popular beers, including Modelo, Corona, Pacifico and Tecate, most of which are brewed in Mexico before being shipped to US retailers.

“We can brew Modelo beer. It’s the same way. Let’s brew it in the United States,” Sean O’Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told Fox News Digital. “We are working very well in the production of goods and services in this country,” he added.

In its filing, the union said Mexican beer production has increased by 85 percent since 2014, and nearly 80 percent of the country’s beer exports go to the United States. Meanwhile, energy use in large US industries has dropped from 82% in 2013 to 65% in 2023, a trend the Teamsters say threatens thousands of good-paying union jobs.

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Economists say the beer industry could be hit with job losses as tariffs drive up costs for brewers and importers. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

The union says the tariffs will help bring more beer production back to the US, supporting American brewers and farmers who grow barley and hops, aluminum can manufacturers and truckers who deliver beer across the country.

“I am pro-America, pro-American worker, American jobs. So if there is an opportunity to tax Mexican beer in this situation, which will give an opportunity to our current members, who have tens of thousands in the brewing and distribution industry, then I am all for the tax and everything to keep American jobs in America,” said O’Brien.

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The Teamsters say the threat to American brewing jobs is growing as major brewers continue to invest billions of dollars in Mexico.

According to this filing, the breweries announced plans to add another 19 to 23 million hectoliters of production capacity in the next five years, which is an expansion of the union’s signs due to tax benefits focused on foreign countries, low labor costs and industrial policies aimed at increasing production for foreign markets.

The filing also cites Mexico’s 2023 tax incentives for export-oriented manufacturers and its “Plan México” industry-wide strategy, arguing that those policies encourage more investment while depressing wages and making it more difficult for US manufacturers to compete.

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The Teamsters have publicly supported tariffs of up to 75% on Mexican beer sales, calling them one possible solution to what they describe as an uneven playing field. In a separate submission to the USTR, the union said continued pressure from imported beer could force the downsizing or closure of US breweries, jeopardizing the well-paying brewing jobs that have supported American families for generations.

The Teamsters’ filing is one of several submitted as the USTR weighs potential trade actions under its ongoing Section 301 investigation.

USTR did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.