Here's Why Coffee Tariffs are Stupid
Coffee tariffs are stupid. Really stupid.
Don't take my word for it. Just ask...well, right now you'll have to take my word for it, unless you know a coffee farmer or importer.
In case no one told you, coffee is subject to 10% blanket tariffs along with most everything else entering the United States right now. The actual rate can vary, but let's stick with 10% because neither of us are international trade attorneys.
Those tariffs are paid by the importer, meaning the U.S.-based company that ordered the goods. That tariff gets baked in further down the supply chain, right up until you reach for that bag of coffee at the grocery store.
You with me still? OK, good.
Now, let's say you wanted to avoid that tariff to keep costs low. If you were an importer, what would you do instead? You'd buy from a coffee farm in the United States, right? Yeah. Seems simple enough.
But wait.
There's more!
Coffee needs certain conditions to grow. Coffee beans aren't like, oh, say, soy beans. Soy beans you can grow all over the place. Coffee is different. Coffee is picky.
That's why, in the United States, coffee is only grown at scale in Hawaii. Yes, California does grow coffee, but it does it the same way I play pickup basketball: poorly.
Hawaii produces good stuff. The climate and the soil is right for coffee. You may have seen Kona coffee at the grocery store. That's Hawaii.
Problem solved. Hawaiian coffee is 100% made-in-the-USA, baby. No more tariff.
But wait.
There's even more!
Hawaii isn't a big place. In fact, my sources tell me it's an island. It's possible it's a whole chain of islands, but we're talking commodities today, not the sixth-grade geography bonanza I bombed in the first round.
Seriously now, Hawaii simply doesn't have the acreage to supply the United States with coffee. That's why the United States imports from big producers like Brazil, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Colombia, and many others.
The situation comes down to this: either there will be coffee imports or Americans must stop drinking coffee. Which do you think is most likely to happen?
Yeah, I'm not turning in my coffee mug any time soon, either.
Back to these 10% tariffs. The point of these tariffs, I'm told, is to protect and grow U.S. businesses. OK, fine, whatever, that's a policy you can debate somewhere else when your relatives come to visit.
There's a big but(t) to that. Tariffs will not grow coffee production in the United States because there physically isn't enough suitable land to grow it on to meet demand.
And here's where it gets stupid.
We here in the United States are voluntarily charging ourselves more for coffee for no good reason. No one forced us to do this. We did it. Stupidly.
It's like shooting yourself in the foot, reloading, and blasting a hole through your kneecap, too. (Hey, at least the guns are still made here.)
Hopefully, these tariffs will be removed for coffee imports. It would lower coffee prices for you overnight.
I say that as someone who benefits from high coffee prices. Interest in Writer's Block Coffee is the highest it's ever been. While I'd like to think it's because of my dazzling personality and magnetic good looks, we all know it's because of the low prices.
Roll out that elevator pitch.
Writer's Block Coffee sells specialty grade, roast-to-order coffee beans at ultra-low prices (aka at or below cost). We ship for free to U.S. addresses, too. And no, the coffee doesn't suck. It's very good.
Check us out. Tell your friends. A new way to do business is here.
On holy grounds,
Ben Sobieck
Writer's Block Coffee