The tariff rate on all goods imported into the United States from Brazil, including coffee, remains at 50%. Last year, America imported $1.9 billion from its largest trading partner, or roughly one-third of all coffee imports in 2024. That same year, the United States purchased $1.5 billion from Colombia, its second-largest coffee trading partner. Together, they account for about 60% of all coffee that comes to America. (This does not include goods shipped through Switzerland, a non-producing country that is America’s third leading partner.)
The current tariff rate on Colombian goods is 10%. But that could change as the president has threatened to boost tariffs on Colombia within “[escalating] dispute arising from U.S. military attacks on ships allegedly carrying drugs in the region.”
As reported Reutersover the weekend, the president said he would raise tariffs and halt all payments to Colombia, although he notes it is unclear what those payments are for because it has closed USAID, the government’s humanitarian aid program through which Colombia received financial aid.
The cargo ship destroyed in the Caribbean at the center of the dispute is believed to have belonged to a leftist rebel group known as the National Liberation Army and was involved in drug smuggling; Reuters notes that the White House provided no evidence to support this claim. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the boat belonged to a “modest family” and was not affiliated with a leftist group.
Meanwhile, relations between the two countries have become less diplomatic, with the president calling Petro “the leader of illegal drugs.” Last month, the U.S. government revoked Petro’s visa for participating in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Recent York during which he “urged American soldiers to defy Trump’s orders.”
In this way, tensions may escalate into recent tariffs on Colombian goods. While the exact amount and whether the coffee would be exempt (though it is not yet exempt from any other tariffs) have yet to be confirmed, it cannot be underestimated how damaging increased tariffs would be on the second leading exporter, especially when the coffee industry is already struggling to break free from tariffs imposed on the first, Brazil.
If, for example, the rate were to rise to 50%, as is currently the case in Brazil – which many believe is due to non-economic reasons such as the recent threat from Colombia – it would mean that America would have to scramble to cover more than half of the coffee it imported last year. And elsewhere there may not be enough coffee produced to account for it.
