On 2 April, President Donald Trump announced sweeping US import tariffs on many of the world’s largest coffee producers, with coffee prices falling on 3 April following the announcement.
Vietnam, the world’s second largest coffee producer and the third largest exporter of coffee to the United States (US), faces the highest import tax at 46 per cent.
Alongside Vietnam, there will be a 32 per cent duty on imports from Indonesia, 26 per cent duty on imports from India, 18 per cent duty on imports from Nicaragua, and a 10 per cent duty on imports for Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Costa Rica, DR Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen.
On 3 April, world coffee prices fell as investors worried President Donald Trump‘s tariffs would damage coffee demand in the world’s top consumer of the product. On the ICE exchange, Arabica coffee futures settled down 3.6 cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $3.8525 per pound, having earlier fallen nearly 3 per cent, while Robusta coffee futures fell 0.2 per cent at $5,388 a ton, having earlier fallen 2.5 per cent.
Roasters in the US will be hit hard by these import taxes, with much of the industry expected to lobby against the tariffs. If the tariffs remain, it is expected roasters will look to source less coffee from Vietnam and explore origins with smaller duties.
