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While the coffee industry deals with the chaos caused by Trump’s tariffs, some are working to exclude coffee from the new import duties. The National Coffee Association has been lobbying for coffee to be exempt, while one roaster started a public petition in April that has gained over 13,000 signatures. Also in April, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives joined together to form the Congressional Coffee Caucus to support the industry from a trade and policy perspective.
As Nick Brown reports for Daily Coffee News, caucus members have now written a letter to United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, requesting that coffee be exempt from current and future tariffs. Founding members Jill Tokuda, a Democrat from Hawaii, and William Timmons, a Republican from South Carolina, told Greer in the letter that exempting coffee would protect American jobs and help a multi-billion-dollar industry that is 99% dependent on imports.
“Unlike many other goods affected by recent tariffs, coffee is not produced at a scale within the United States that can meet domestic demand,” the letter said. “Because there is no viable domestic substitute, tariffs on imported coffee create challenges for the industry.”
The letter outlines the impact of coffee on the U.S. economy. The industry supports more than 2.2 million jobs and contributes roughly $343 billion in economic output each year. The lawmakers note that tariffs risk damaging relationships with coffee-growing countries.
“As the Trump Administration continues to evaluate and shape U.S. trade policy, we urge you to remove coffee from existing and future tariff measures,” the letter concludes. The letter is signed by Tokuda, Timmons, and several other Representatives from around the country.
