President Trump has removed 40% tariffs on Brazilian coffee, cocoa, beef and other agricultural products that are not grown in sufficient amounts in the U.S.
The move should alleviate concerns about rising coffee prices, as Brazil is a major producer. It follows a similar move made one week ago to ease tariffs on grocery products worldwide, an effort to lower the cost of groceries.
The National Coffee Association praised the move as beneficial to coffee drinkers and the U.S. economy.
“Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee each day, and every cup will cost less thanks to President Trump’s decision to remove tariffs on coffee imports from Brazil — the world’s largest coffee producer,” NCA President and CEO Bill Murray said.
Brazil is the world’s leading coffee producer. The U.S. gets about a third of its coffee beans from the South American nation.
In July, Mr. Trump added a 40% tariff to the 10% levy he imposed on Brazilian imports earlier in the year.
The president was upset with Brazil’s social media regulations and its prosecution of former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, a key Trump ally.
Yet the administration faces increasing pressure to ease prices. Democrats won major November elections on a message of affordability, and the cost of a pound of coffee had risen 40% in September compared to the prior year.
In his executive order, Mr. Trump said broader trade negotiations with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “are ongoing.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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