Coffee Is in Trouble

"Coffee is in trouble. Even before the United States imposed tariffs of 50 percent on Brazil and 20 percent on Vietnam-which together produce more than half of the world's coffee beans-other challenges, including climate-change-related fires, flooding, and droughts, had already forced up coffee prices globally. Today, all told, coffee in the U.S. is nearly 40 percent more expensive than it was a year ago. Futures for arabica coffee-the beans most people in the world drink-have increased by almost a dollar since July."

"And prices may well go up further: Tariffs have "destabilized an already volatile market," Sara Morrocchi, the CEO of the coffee consultancy Vuna, told me. This is a problem for the millions of people who grow and sell coffee around the world. It is also a problem for the people who rely on coffee for their base executive functioning-such a problem that Congress recently introduced a bipartisan bill to specifically protect coffee from Trump's tariffs."

"Coffee is a bit of a funny place from which to start trying to legislate against import taxes. Many, many foods and drinks are currently being tariffed to outer space, but coffee has basically no nutritional value and plenty of functional substitutes-walk into any gas station and you will see a wall full of energy drinks in every flavor, color, and chemical composition. We do not need coffee."

U.S. tariffs of 50 percent on Brazil and 20 percent on Vietnam, combined with climate-change-related fires, flooding, and droughts, have driven global coffee prices sharply higher. Coffee in the U.S. is nearly 40 percent more expensive than a year ago, and arabica futures have risen by almost a dollar since July. Market observers describe tariffs as destabilizing an already volatile market. Millions of coffee growers and sellers face harm from rising costs, while consumers encounter higher prices for a widely relied-upon stimulant. Representatives Ro Khanna and Don Bacon introduced the No Coffee Tax Act to exempt coffee from tariffs.

Read at The Atlantic