U.S. coffee industry pushes to keep Brazilian coffee tariff‑free

The National Coffee Association and other U.S. coffee makers asked the Trump administration to maintain tariff exemptions for Brazilian green coffee and to add instant coffee to the free‑trade list during a public consultation on a Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trade practices. The industry warned that a proposed 25% tariff on several Brazilian products would raise prices for the nearly 200 million American adults who drink coffee daily and hurt manufacturers of ready‑to‑drink coffee, syrups and food‑service blends.

Brazilian soluble‑coffee producers, represented by Abics, also testified to the U.S. Trade Representative, stressing that Brazil supplies about 22 % of U.S. soluble‑coffee imports and is essential for sectors such as ready‑to‑drink beverages, baked goods and institutional foodservice. They argued a 25% tariff would increase costs, pressure margins and affect consumers, noting the supply cannot be easily replaced by other exporters.