April 23, 2025

Coffee tariff exemption request well received by US government, National Coffee Association boss says

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - An application by the United States’ National Coffee Association (NCA) to get coffee exempted from tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has been well received, the NCA’s CEO Bill Murray said during an industry event in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state on Wednesday.

"We think it is a good sign that our request has been well received and is being looked at, but it’s impossible to predict if that means anything," Murray said via video call at an event held by Brazilian coffee roasters association ABIC in the city of Campinas.

Brazil was included among countries hit by a 10% tariff when Trump first announced the measures, even as other coffee-producers faced much higher charges. The country is now subject to Trump’s universal 10% charge amid a 90-day freeze on most of the higher tariffs.

The situation is incredibly dynamic, Murray said, adding that it was important to remember many industries in the U.S. are also trying to secure exemptions of their own, making the timing of any decisions difficult to guess.

"It’s really impossible to predict what a timeline might looks like," he said.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that Brazil is currently subject to the universal 10% tariff imposed by the U.S. government, in paragraph 3)

OK