United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (11) that he would reduce “some tariffs” on coffee, one of Brazil’s main exports. This came in an interview with The Ingraham Angle program on Fox News.
“We will reduce some tariffs on coffee, and we will bring some coffee into the (United States),” he added.
The Republican did not mention the size of the reduction or the countries that would benefit. Brazil, which accounts for a third of the beans consumed by the United States and is the world’s largest coffee consumer, has been the target of a 50% surcharge since August.
The tariffs are already wreaking havoc on the U.S. coffee sector, which generates $340 billion annually, leaving importers with large quantities of Brazilian coffee stranded, roasters paying fees to cancel deliveries, and consumers spending up to 40% more on the drink. Inventories are expected to reach their lowest levels in December.
In September, the month after the tariffs went into effect, US retail coffee prices recorded their largest annual increase of the century, rising 3.6% during the month. In October, the product was 19% more expensive on average in the United States than it was a year ago.
At the beginning of October, Trump and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met in Malaysia and began talks to remove tariffs on Brazilian products. The deal could make coffee cheaper for American consumers.
Despite the tariffs, Brazilian exports of unroasted coffee to the United States increased this year, reaching US$1.65 billion between January and October, according to data from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services. This amount represents an 18.9% jump compared to the same period in 2024, when total sales reached US$1.39 billion.
The tariff also led to a 67% decline in Brazilian shipments of specialty coffee. The United States is responsible for moving about 2 million bags of premium coffee, out of the 10 million bags the country exports, according to the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA).
With the adoption of the tariffs, of the approximately 150,000 bags on average exported monthly to states such as California, New York and Oregon, the total fell to 50,000 bags.
The specialty coffee is the most valuable produced in the country, and the price of a 60 kg bag easily exceeds R$3,000, according to producers who participated in the last week of SIC (International Coffee Week), the main event linked to coffee growing in the country and which was held in Belo Horizonte.
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