Overview
- The administration enacted a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee on Aug. 6 along with heightened duties on India, Indonesia and Vietnam, building on the 10% baseline introduced in April.
- Futures for arabica coffee in New York jumped as much as 8% as traders scrambled to clear shipments before higher levies and reroute imports to avoid steep tariffs.
- U.S. roasters and cafes have begun passing higher import costs onto customers, raising cup prices by $0.50 to $1 and warning that packaged beans will soon cost more.
- The National Coffee Association and Specialty Coffee Association have publicly condemned the policy for threatening supply-chain sustainability and transparency and said they are exploring legal challenges.
- Coffee costs in U.S. stores climbed 14.5% year-over-year in July, pushing the average price for a pound of ground coffee to $8.41, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.