Key Takeaways
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration could adjust tariff levels on products not easily produced in the U.S., including coffee and bananas.
- Coffee prices are higher by nearly 20% after President Donald Trump cited a national emergency in setting a 50% tariff on Brazil, the world’s leading coffee producer.
Your trip to the coffee shop may get a bit easier if White House officials follow through with their latest proposal to adjust certain tariff rates.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the U.S. could soon lower tariffs on items that aren’t easily produced domestically, some of which are significantly more expensive because of tariffs.
“You’re going to see substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox & Friends. “Coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits. Things like that. So that will bring the prices down very quickly.”
Coffee Prices Up Almost 20%
Coffee prices have risen dramatically in recent months, as exports from one of the world’s leading coffee producers, Brazil, face a tariff rate of 50%. The latest Consumer Price Index inflation report showed that coffee prices were nearly 19% higher in September than at the same time last year. Another leading product of Brazil, banana prices are higher by almost 7%.
Why This Matters to You
President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are affecting prices on a range of items, particularly those that can’t be easily produced in the U.S. A change in tariffs for certain items produced in other countries could help bring prices down for consumers who are paying more for some grocery store products.
The move would come as some have criticized broad U.S. tariffs for raising prices on products that aren’t easily grown or made in the U.S. Only some parts of Hawaii and Florida have the climate needed for bananas, according to the Tax Foundation, while Brazilian coffee is also hard to match.
“To the extent that Brazilian coffee may have a unique flavor profile, US producers cannot simply make ‘Brazilian coffee’ in the US,” wrote a Tax Foundation team led by economist Alex Durante. “In this situation, some consumers may opt to simply pay the higher import price for Brazilian coffee rather than switch to another type.”
Legislators have pointed to the impact tariffs are having on the price of coffee, including a bipartisan group of House members who introduced legislation to repeal tariffs on all coffee products.
“Families across America are feeling the cost of higher coffee prices, … and tariffing a product we can’t grow at a large, commercial scale, only makes it worse,” said Nebraska Republican Representative Don Bacon in a statement. “Tariffs are simply a tax on American consumers, raising the price of everyday goods without creating jobs or bringing production on-shore.”