Instant coffee is no longer exempt from tariffs and the sector goes to the USA to ask for a review: 'It's not logical'

Brazil will defend soluble coffee in a hearing on tariffs in the US: 'It's not logical', says sector.
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The Brazilian soluble coffee industry is going to the United States to defend the national product against the new round of tariffs proposed by Donald Trump. The public hearing will take place on July 6, in Washington, and could determine whether the US will once again overtax Brazil.
Individual coffee is the only type of coffee that was left out of the list of exemptions from the new tariffs, a situation that has been repeated since last year.
"We will participate in both the hearing and the written statements", says Aguinaldo Lima, executive director of the Brazilian Soluble Coffee Industry Association (Abics).
On June 1, Trump proposed tariffs of 25% on Brazilian goods, after an investigation into different topics, such as illegal deforestation, piracy and PIX.
The following day, he announced additional tariffs of 12.5% for 60 countries for failure to combat forced labor, including Brazil.
For both cases, a vast list of exemptions was published that includes whole, roasted and ground coffee.
Added to this is the fact that flavored instant coffee also benefited from the exemptions, while the traditional version was left out. "We believe there may have been some error in the classification of codes, because it doesn't make sense", he says.
Another hypothesis raised by Abics is that the Americans are trying to reindustrialize the sector.
"Even if the USA decides to produce more soluble coffee, they would still need to import the raw material. Furthermore, this is an industry that takes no less than four or five years to set up. This, in fact, is one of the arguments we are presenting", he says.
"On the other hand, we know that all of this is part of a more complex game. The United States wants a good agreement in the area of critical minerals, rare earths, PIX, big techs and so on", he comments.
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What the sector will argue at the hearing
According to Lima, one of the lines of argument will be to show the impact of tariffs on coffee inflation in the USA, in addition to the importance of Brazilian instant coffee for the American economy. "This analysis is still being done, but we will debate based on data", he reinforces.
Preliminary figures from the report show that the USA produces only 6% of the soluble coffee consumed domestically.
"Everything else is imported, mainly from Brazil and Mexico. In 2024, [the last year before the tariffs], Brazil accounted for 37% of the entire volume of soluble coffee imported by Americans", says Lima.
He reinforces that the data is still being validated and which will be part of the written statement that Abics is preparing to send to the American authorities. The document will be delivered by July 1st, the deadline set by the US for governments and associations to express their views on the tariffs.
He explains that much of the argument will be made in writing because each person only has three minutes to speak at the public hearing. "During the presentation, we need to be very direct."
"After three minutes, they open up for questions. And, from the experience we had last year, coffee is not questioned as much. Generally, the meat sector and slaughterhouses receive more questions", he comments.
"But we will be there to be present", he reinforces.
Data from the US Department of Labor Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics) show that instant coffee inflation in the US rose 24% in May, accumulated over 12 months.
Between August 2025 and February this year, Brazilian products were taxed 50% in the USA, which reduced Brazilian industry sales to this market. On February 20, the US Congress overturned this surcharge, but on the same day, Trump imposed a global tariff of 10%.
"In July, the deadline for the 10% rate expires", recalls Lima. According to him, if the new tariffs come into force, Brazilian soluble coffee should be taxed at 37.5% in the American market and cause another blow to the sector.
In addition to the inflationary impact in the USA, Lima highlights that soluble coffee is important for the American economy. ready", he highlights.
Trump accuses Brazil of forced labor in livestock farming, but exempts beef from the new tariff
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Source: G1