American breweries purchase more than $1 billion in grain, barley and other agricultural inputs from U.S. farmers every year. In a state like Iowa, where agriculture is the backbone of the economy and essential to the identity of our communities, that demand directly supports our way of life. Unfortunately, this connection is under threat due to unfair foreign competition in the beer market. The Department of Agriculture is already reporting weakening demand for malted barley used in domestic beer production, a direct result of imports displacing American-made beer in the United States. Beer imports have grown to nearly 25% of the total U.S. market, a share that now exceeds foreign imports of automobiles, and more than 80% of those imports come from Mexico. Some estimate that if these trends continue, beer imports could reach 40%. The downstream impact on American farmers would be severe and lasting.

When we look at why this imbalance exists, we find shocking differences between the Mexican and American economies. American brewery workers earn an average of nearly $80,000 a year. Mexican brewery workers, on the other hand, earn roughly $3,700 per year. American breweries also carry the full weight of U.S. taxes, environmental standards, and labor law. Their Mexican competitors, needless to say, do not.

Is it fair that American breweries have to compete side by side with those in Mexico, given these structural differences? I don’t think so.

Imposing a tariff on beer imported from Mexico tells foreign governments that access to the American market comes with an expectation: that the competition must be fair and that our strong labor and regulatory standards cannot be used as a weapon against our own workers and producers.

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