Trump Again Signals Coffee Tariff Relief; Importers Still Waiting

In a prime time television appearance last night, President Donald Trump addressed coffee prices, saying, “we’re going to lower some tariffs.”

Amid a series of freewheeling remarks about Democrats on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Trump turned to the economy, describing it as “the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”

“By the way, the only thing is beef,” Trump said before host Laura Ingraham interjected with one word: coffee.

“Coffee, we’re going to lower some tariffs,” Trump replied. “We’re going to have some coffee come in. We’re going to take care of all this stuff very quickly, very easily.”

The exchange appears in a segment posted on Fox’s YouTube channel, starting around the 2:30 mark.

The comments mark at least the second time in two weeks that Trump has addressed coffee tariffs. On Oct. 27, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, on the way to Tokyo, he said coffee would be among the products exempted from a 20% “headline” tariff under a forthcoming trade framework with Vietnam, adding, “We want to get coffee down a little bit.”

Thus far, Trump’s words have not translated into relief for coffee traders, roasters, coffee shop operators and consumers affected by coffee tariffs, which are paid by U.S. coffee importers.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s fact sheet on the Vietnam framework says the U.S. will keep a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on Vietnamese goods but will later identify a subset of products that can drop to 0%. Coffee has not yet been formally added to the list.

In Congress, the bipartisan “No Coffee Tax Act” would roll back tariffs on coffee, an agricultural good that cannot be produced anywhere near the scale needed to meet U.S. demand.

Last week, an attempt by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) to pass the No Coffee Tax Act by unanimous consent failed when Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) objected, sending the bill back to the committee level.

Coffee prices at U.S. grocery stores have continued to climb. The average price of a pound of roasted and ground coffee reached $9.14 in September, up 3% from $8.87 in August and 41% from September 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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