The Never-Ending Tariff Story

For the past several months, the coffee industry—along with the rest of the world—has watched aghast as Donald Trump, somehow the President of the United States of America, took a blowtorch to international trade.

The latest set of confusing, seemingly arbitrary threats are particularly important for the coffee industry: On 9 July, Trump posted a letter to the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his social media platform, threatening to impose taxes of 50% on all imports from Brazil.

The tariffs, Trump wrote, were in retaliation for the way Brazil “has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term”. The far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro (and Trump crony) is currently on trial, charged with attempting to overturn his 2022 election loss. This trial, Trump wrote, is “a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”

There was also some other stuff about free speech and an “unfair trade relationship”, but it was mostly about sticking up for his buddy. Trump’s unhinged threat is the latest in a months-long trade fiasco that has sown chaos in the coffee industry and beyond. The question is: will it ever end?