Reed Bill Would Dump Trump’s Coffee Tariffs & Help Lower Prices

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Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are brewing up economic volatility, uncertainty, and higher prices for American businesses and consumers alike -- making a cup of coffee more expensive than ever. And with Americans drinking about 400 million cups of coffee per day, according to the National Coffee Association, Trump’s tariff price hikes really add up. “President Trump’s reckless tariffs have driven up the cost of coffee – jolting prices by more than 40 percent over a year ago. For coffee shop owners, roasters, and customers alike, Trump’s coffee price hikes have been a bitter brew to swallow,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. Today, Senator Reed visited Mills Coffee Roasting Company to discuss his latest efforts to help lower coffee prices. Dating to 1860, Mills Coffee is one of the oldest family-owned roasters in the country. Senator Reed is backing the No Coffee Tax Act (S.3072). This legislation would repeal Trump’s tariffs on coffee imports from Brazil, Vietnam, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and every foreign country and prevent him from putting new tariffs on coffee in the future. If the bill becomes law, tariff rates on coffee would return to what they were on January 19, the day before President Donald Trump’s inauguration – which was 0 percent. President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil, a country from which American imports around one-third of its coffee, after the country refused to drop criminal charges against far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been convicted of attempting to overthrow Brazil’s government. The next two biggest coffee exporters to the U.S., Vietnam and Colombia, have been hit with 20 percent and 10 percent tariffs, respectively. Now, the average U.S. price of a pound of ground coffee is $9.14 as of September, the latest data government data currently available -- 41 percent higher than the year before, according to U.S. government data. Coffee production is not an industry the U.S. can reasonably onshore and the U.S. is the largest importer of coffee in the world. Ninety-nine percent of all coffee consumed in the United States is imported, according to the National Coffee Association, because there are very few places in the U.S. with the climate necessary to grow coffee.