Trump lifts 40% tariff on Brazilian coffee and tea

The White House issued a statement yesterday announcing that President Donald J Trump has “determined that certain agricultural products shall not be subject to the additional rate of duty.”

On 30 July 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to implement the 40% tariff on a wide array of goods including coffee and tea, claiming the “scope and gravity of recent policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States that has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States.” However, many critics have asserted that the tariff was in response to Brazil’s prosecution of its former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

Goods no longer facing the 40% duty include coffee, tea, cocoa beans, beef, some fruits, nuts and fruit juices. Brazil had previously also been facing a 10% reciprocal tariff on goods such as coffee and beef, which was removed last week for certain goods as part of a broader removal reciprocal tariffs on specific agricultural products.

In the White House statement, President Trump said “it is necessary and appropriate to modify the scope of [Brazilian] products subject to the additional rate of duty imposed.” While negotiations between the US and Brazil are ongoing, Trump said he had considered “information and recommendations from various officials” who “have been monitoring the circumstances” and they contended that there were some “agricultural imports from Brazil should no longer be subject to the additional rate of duty imposed” because there has been “initial progress in negotiations with the Government of Brazil.”

The latest order applies to Brazilian imports to the US on or after 13 November 2025, meaning that some businesses may require a refund of the duties collected on those goods while the tariffs were still being charged.

In response to President Trump’s decision to remove reciprocal tariffs on certain imports from Brazil, the National Coffee Association (NCA) issued a statement from its president and CEO, Bill Murray: “Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee each day, and every cup will cost less thanks to President Trump’s decision to remove tariffs on coffee imports from Brazil — the world’s largest coffee producer.” He added that the “tariff-free trade of America’s favourite beverage will ease cost-of-living pressures, keep a healthy diet choice affordable, and strengthen coffee’s enormous contributions to the US economy.”

Earlier this month, the Trump administration also outlined framework agreements with several South American, Central American, and Asian countries to remove trade barriers on some products, including coffee and tea. — Vanessa L Facenda