How U.S. Coffee Tariffs Are Brewing Trouble for the Coffee Business

🧠 What Are Tariffs, Anyway?

Tariffs are like a tax the US government puts on stuff that comes from other countries. It’s kind of like a toll on a highway—except instead of cars paying to drive, companies have to pay extra to bring in products like coffee beans from places like Brazil or Colombia. So to further clarify, it’s the company that imports the product that pays the tariff. For industries like coffee, we don’t have the option to get our product domestically and must import from other countries. Read on to understand why.

☕ Why This Matters for Coffee

Here’s the thing: coffee can’t grow in the continental U.S. The climate isn’t right. The ideal growing condition for coffee is a tropical or subtropical climate with consistent temperatures year round, abundant rainfall and nutrient rich soils. The only US states that grow a tiny bit of coffee are Hawaii and Puerto Rico. So if Americans want their morning coffee (and trust me, we really do), we have to buy it from other countries.

🌍 Where Does the Coffee Come From? The Bean Belt Explained.

Most of our coffee comes from places along the “Bean Belt” (as illustrated above) —countries near the equator where the weather is perfect for growing coffee. At Desert Sun, we source our coffee from around 16 countries around the world including Sumatra, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia to name a few. Here’s some of the top producers:

• Brazil: They’re like the MVP of coffee—the #1 producer in the world. Roughly 35% of US coffee is imported from here.
  

• Colombia: Famous for smooth Arabica beans. They comprise 27% of the coffee we drink in the US. Side note, the spelling of the country is commonly misspelled as Columbia (most likely due to the clothing brand and the university).
  

• Vietnam: Big on strong Robusta beans that are mostly used for instant coffee and caffeine extraction.
  

Latin American countries combined supply about 80% of the coffee we drink!

🔥 What’s Happening Now?

In 2025, the U.S. decided to add a 10% extra fee (tariff) on coffee from every country, and even higher fees on coffee from places like Brazil (50% as of this writing). As a reminder, it’s roasteries like us that pay that tariff, not the country from which the coffee originated. For any small business that already has a low margin, this additional additional cost has to be absorbed somewhere. This forces most to raise their prices, passing on the tariff to the wholesale or retail customer.

So now:

• Coffee is more expensive for businesses to buy.
  

• Prices will go up at cafés and grocery stores.
  

• Many small coffee businesses will likely struggle to stay open.
  
  

🏁 The Big Picture

Tariffs are like speed bumps. They slow down trade and make things cost more. And when you’re talking about something that the U.S. can’t really grow itself, it’s like putting a toll booth in front of a free water fountain.

So yeah, the coffee business is feeling a bit jittery—and not just from the caffeine. 😉

☕ Key Stats at a Glance

US Coffee Industry:  We support 2.2 million jobs and contribute $343 billion per year to the US economy. 

Coffee commodity prices have surged to $4.40/lb in early 2025, up from under $1 a few years prior—driven by droughts in Brazil, climate volatility, and logistics chaos—not just tariffs.

Average tariff increase for green coffee: 22%

By value, U.S. coffee imports in 2024 totaled around US $9 billion, with the biggest suppliers:

• Brazil: $2 billion (up 42.5%)
  

• Colombia: $1.5 billion (up 7.2%)

• Vietnam: $364 million (slightly down 0.5%)
  

Regardless of what’s happening in the world, we will remain committed to directly supporting our farming communities around the world. Together we are trying to brew a better future. Thanks for choosing Desert Sun Coffee as your personal roaster.