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And breathe. On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump issued an executive order lifting the 40% tariff on coffee and other commodities from Brazil.
The order came less than a week after the administration issued another executive order exempting goods not grown in the U.S. from reciprocal tariffs.
The constant back-and-forth on tariffs has thrown the coffee industry into chaos over the past nine months. But the tariffs on Brazil were the most severe—and arguably the most consequential—as the U.S. imports the bulk of its coffee from Brazil.
In the order, Trump said trade negotiations with Brazil are ongoing. However, the order continues, “various officials” had told him that, “in their opinion, certain agricultural imports from Brazil should no longer be subject to” the 40% tariff imposed under the previous executive order.
“You can expect some thousands of bags of Brazilian coffee that were sitting in bonded warehouses to start moving quickly to U.S. roasters,” commodities analyst Judith Ganes told Reuters.
The news was welcomed by the National Coffee Association, which had been lobbying for a coffee exemption. “Tariff-free trade of America’s favorite beverage will ease cost-of-living pressures, keep a healthy diet choice affordable, and strengthen coffee’s enormous contributions to the U.S. economy,” NCA CEO William “Bill” Murray said in a press release.
The coffee futures market has hit record highs over the past year, thanks in part to the tariffs. After Trump’s executive order, the commodity price plummeted. As we reported last week, however, whether this will impact retail coffee prices remains to be seen.
Read the full story on Brazil’s tariff relief from Global Coffee Report here.
Photo by kelsen Fernandes on Unsplash
