News Summaries in July 2025
“Brazil Duties Threaten to Raise Coffee Prices,” Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2025 The 50 percent tariff President Trump has placed on products from Brazil is likely to increase prices for the type of coffee U.S. consumers prefer. Brazilian arabica beans are the source for roughly 35 percent to 40 percent of the coffee consumed in the U.S., says Journal reporter Kirk Maltais. “In fact, at over 40 million bags, Brazil produces more arabica coffee than the next five leading producers in the world combined,” Maltais said. “This includes countries like Colombia and Honduras, where U.S. coffee makers already buy a large portion of their output.” Rabobank analyst James Watson said “we don’t have an easy ability to replace Brazilian coffee. For the most part, most of what you drink is all arabica.” The next leading coffee producer in the world is Vietnam, but it produces robusta, a cheaper type of coffee that is common in instant coffee. Citi Research has noted that traders h...