Kerri Bickford is a former Maine state representative who served on the Labor, Commerce and Economic Development Committee. She is also a former restaurant bartender and server in Midcoast Maine.
 
Maine’s tourism industry is a backbone of our economy. The season is notoriously short, making the margin for error very thin for restaurant and bar owners. Staffing, especially in the summertime, is increasingly challenging, and costs have risen across the board.
 
People often forget that bars are part of a much broader supply chain, and what affects one part of the ecosystem ends up affecting all of us in one way or another.

That is why I am paying close attention to what is happening to the American beer industry, and why I am urging the administration to impose tariffs on beer imported from Mexico.
 
I spent years serving in the Maine State Legislature, including as chair of the Labor, Commerce and Economic Development Committee, where I heard from both workers and employers. I believe strongly that labor policy should be about creating conditions where businesses can grow, workers can earn a good living and communities can prosper.
 
The American beer industry provides a case study in what that balance looks like when it works. Domestic brewery workers earn an average of nearly $60,000 a year in real wages with full benefits. A thriving domestic brewery supports farmers who grow ingredients like barley and hops, truckers who deliver cases and kegs to establishments all over the country and bartenders who hand the finished beer in a glass to paying customers. All down the line, participants in this supply chain can make a good living, and that prosperity eventually makes its way to every corner of the community.
 
Right now, that entire ecosystem is under immense pressure.
 
Imported beer now accounts for nearly 25% of all beer consumed in the United States, up from just 14% in 2013. More than 80% of those imports come from Mexico, where brewery workers earn roughly $11,000 a year and where large producers have been building capacity specifically to export beer into the American market. Rather than competing with American breweries on quality, these Mexican breweries are exploiting the structural disadvantages American brewers face due to our broken trade policy.
 
I have seen firsthand what this looks like in practice. As domestic brands lose market share, bars and restaurants find it harder to stock the products that customers ask for. Maine’s bars and restaurants are already squeezed by the challenging economic conditions we find ourselves in. A weakening domestic beer industry is the last thing we need.
 
This is why these tariffs would be so timely. The Trump administration has been clear that America First means building a production economy that creates jobs for all, and that means ensuring American manufacturers can compete on a level playing field. Imposing tariffs on beer imported from Mexico is consistent with that agenda. It gives domestic brewers room to invest, hire and grow, which in turn supports the hospitality businesses and agricultural producers that depend on a healthy beer industry.
 
The Midcoast is proud of its local craft brewers and the culture of entrepreneurship they represent. Good trade policy should make that easier, not harder.
 
Enacting tariffs on beer imported from Mexico is the right call. They protect workers, level the playing field and strengthen the domestic supply chain that communities like ours depend on. I urge the administration to consider moving forward with them.