US legislators file bill to axe tariffs on coffee
US REPRESENTATIVES Don Bacon and Rohit Khanna were set to introduce bipartisan legislation that would exempt coffee products from any tariffs, spokespeople for the legislators said.
Brazil used to supply a third of all the coffee used in the US, but shipments dried up since a 50% tariff was imposed on Brazilian imports at the end of July.
“Families across America are feeling the cost of higher coffee prices, which are already up 21%, and tariffing a product we can’t grow at a large, commercial scale, only makes it worse,” Republican Mr. Bacon said.
Roasted coffee prices at grocery stores in the US rose 20.9% in August from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“I look forward to working with Rep. Khanna to introduce this bipartisan bill and believe it can help spark the broader debate about Congress reclaiming its constitutional role in tariff policy,” Mr. Bacon, one of the few Republican voices in
Congress who has taken positions independent of President Donald J. Trump, added.
Prices for arabica coffee, the mild variety mostly used by coffee chains such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, have jumped around 50% at the Intercontinental Exchange in New York since the Trump administration imposed its tariff on Brazilian imports, including green coffee.
“If you drink coffee every morning, how can you not be mad about that?” Mr. Khanna, who is a Democrat, told Reuters, referring to the price rise.
The bill seeks to exempt coffee from any tariffs imposed after Jan. 19, including roasted and decaffeinated coffee, as well as coffee husks, skins, and coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion. — Reuters
