US coffee industry urges Trump to spare Brazilian coffee from tariffs

The National Coffee Association asked the Trump administration on Wednesday to keep Brazilian green coffee exempt from tariffs and to put instant coffee on the tariff-free list. Higher duties would flow from importers to roasters, then into cafe menus, grocery shelves and the price of a daily cup. Instant coffee is used in household jars and ready-to-drink coffee cans, a fast-growing line for U.S. manufacturers.

The appeal landed inside a Section 301 trade case the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative formally opened on July 15, 2025, covering Brazil’s digital trade and electronic payment services, unfair preferential tariffs, anti-corruption enforcement, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access and illegal deforestation. USTR’s June 1, 2026 determination kept the door open to tariffs on several Brazilian products, with a 25% rate under discussion.

USDA data show that more than 92% of U.S. coffee imports have historically been Arabica, while Brazil and Colombia are the major Arabica suppliers and drought in Brazil in 2023, along with lower fertilizer use in Colombia, pushed prices higher. Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of coffee and supplies about a third of U.S. needs.

The National Coffee Association, founded in 1911, represents members that account for about 90% of U.S. coffee commerce, and coffee supports about 2.2 million U.S. jobs. William Murray, the group’s president, backed tariff-free imports. Tariff-free imports would benefit the U.S. economy and the nearly 200 million American adults who drink coffee every day, while also helping shield manufacturers of liquid coffee bases, syrups and food-service blends from more price pressure. More than 90% of Brazilian instant coffee shipments go to the U.S., equal to about 15,500 metric tons a year and more than a fifth of North American instant coffee imports, even as the product already faces a 10% global tariff after a previous 50% levy was lifted for most coffee beans.