PROVIDENCE, RI -- Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are brewing up economic volatility, uncertainty, and higher prices for American businesses and consumers alike -- making a cup of coffee more expensive than ever. And with Americans drinking about 400 million cups of coffee per day, according to the National Coffee Association, Trump’s tariff price hikes really add up.

“President Trump’s reckless tariffs have driven up the cost of coffee – jolting prices by more than 40 percent over a year ago. For coffee shop owners, roasters, and customers alike, Trump’s coffee price hikes have been a bitter brew to swallow,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed.

Today, Senator Reed visited Mills Coffee Roasting Company to discuss his latest efforts to help lower coffee prices.

Dating to 1860, Mills Coffee is one of the oldest family-owned roasters in the country.

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Senator Reed is backing the No Coffee Tax Act (S.3072). This legislation would repeal Trump’s tariffs on coffee imports from Brazil, Vietnam, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and every foreign country and prevent him from putting new tariffs on coffee in the future. If the bill becomes law, tariff rates on coffee would return to what they were on January 19, the day before President Donald Trump’s inauguration – which was 0 percent.

President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil, a country from which American imports around one-third of its coffee, after the country refused to drop criminal charges against far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been convicted of attempting to overthrow Brazil’s government. The next two biggest coffee exporters to the U.S., Vietnam and Colombia, have been hit with 20 percent and 10 percent tariffs, respectively.

Now, the average U.S. price of a pound of ground coffee is $9.14 as of September, the latest data government data currently available -- 41 percent higher than the year before, according to U.S. government data.

Coffee production is not an industry the U.S. can reasonably onshore and the U.S. is the largest importer of coffee in the world. Ninety-nine percent of all coffee consumed in the United States is imported, according to the National Coffee Association, because there are very few places in the U.S. with the climate necessary to grow coffee.

“The U.S. can’t grow our own coffee to meet demand, so President Trump’s reckless coffee tariffs won’t create a single American job or suddenly bring coffee production to the U.S. Instead, President Trump is misusing so-called emergency declarations as an excuse to unfairly tax coffee drinkers and he’s making it harder for small businesses that roast and sell coffee to budget and plan for the future,” said Reed.

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“Mills Coffee dates back to 1860, and it has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. We work directly with our growers and take a very hands-on approach to our supply chain because we value quality, community, sustainability, and stability in all that we do,” said Susan Mills, who is the fourth-generation owner and operator of Mills Coffee Roasting Company. “Our customers want stability, but chaotic tariffs have been making it more and more difficult to budget, plan ahead, and give our customers the stability they need. There is no way to plan for rapidly changing tariffs on the inputs we need to run our business. And as a family-owned small business, we are being forced to either take on significant cost increases on our own or pass them down to our customers. Tariffs don’t belong on agricultural products that we cannot grow sufficiently in the United States. I am very grateful for Senator Reed’s leadership on the No Coffee Tax Act and I hope that the tariffs on coffee will swiftly be eliminated.”

NCA’s latest economic report shows that the total economic impact of the coffee industry in the United States in 2022 was $343.2 billion. It found that the coffee industry is responsible for more than 2.2 million U.S. jobs and generates more than $100 billion in wages per year.

While the coffee industry faces several challenges that impact prices – including extreme weather stemming from climate change as well as supply issues – Senator Reed notes that President Trump’s tariff are particularly avoidable, unwarranted, and reversible. Last month, Senator Reed helped pass three resolutions to end blanket tariffs on countries that President Trump installed via executive order.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month for a case that will decide the fate of many of Trump’s tariffs, with most Supreme Court justices expressing skepticism that the duties were legal.

Reed says there isn’t time to wait and there is bipartisan momentum for the No Coffee Tax Act, which is led by Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Rand Paul (R-KY).

This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent finally acknowledged that tariffs do increase prices on American consumers and hinted that the Trump Administration may start reversing some of its price-hiking policies. However, the Trump Administration’s initial plan only eliminates a tiny fraction of the President’s tariffs and offers no real help lowering prices.

Senator Reed stated: “The Trump Administration seems to be finally waking up to the financial damage its policies are causing. But so far, the so-called deals they have announced aren't finalized, don’t provide real relief, and only apply to 7 percent of the coffee that the U.S. imports. So, as I learned from my coffee tour today: we need to keep ‘grinding away’ and ‘keep the heat on’ to ensure the Trump Administration follows through and actually lowers prices -- not just with respect to coffee, but on everyday staples, including health care, housing, energy, and other big-ticket essentials.”