Source: Washington Post
by Todd Carmichael
“For decades, coffee entered the country duty-free, a recognition of its foundational role in a U.S. industry that supports more than 1.7 million American jobs. That exemption is now gone. In April, the Trump administration implemented a 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly all imported coffee. This month, it raised tariffs on dozens of trading partners …. Brazil, the world’s largest producer of coffee, was slapped on Aug. 6 with a 50 percent tariff. … Many Americans support the administration’s trade policies as a way to bring back production from overseas and to pressure other countries to lower trade barriers. But tariffs on coffee make little sense on those terms compared with other goods: Because the United States can’t grow much coffee itself, all Americans get is upward pressure on prices without a boost to jobs.” (08/11/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/08/11/trump-trade-war-coffee-prices-tariffs/