--- title: Tariffs Are Driving Up the Cost of Your Morning Coffee. Can Congress Stop It? description: Coffee prices are up 21% year-over-year. Lawmakers are pushing to repeal tariffs they say are driving inflation even higher. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 603 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-09-23T15:20:48.000Z' modified: '2025-09-23T15:20:48.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 622 canonical: https://money.com/coffee-prices-soar-congress-tariff-repeal-bill/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of coffee beans forming an upwards arrow](https://img.money.com/2025/09/News-Coffee-Price-Tariffs.jpg) Coffee prices are rising faster than any other grocery item, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers says the inflation has gone too far. The price of coffee has soared 20.9% in the past year and increased 3.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from July to August, according to the latest consumer price index report. Experts [warn](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bad-news-for-coffee-drinkers-the-record-high-prices-[%E2%80%A6]g-will-go-even-higher-when-tariffs-take-their-toll-1c26981a) that even higher retail coffee prices are still to come. On Friday, several House lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal tariffs on coffee. "Why are we tariffing American citizens on something that we don’t even grow? It doesn’t make sense," Rep. Don Bacon, R.-Neb., told the [*Washington Post*](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/19/coffee-tariffs-bill-bacon-khanna/). Coffee prices were [already rising](https://money.com/things-getting-more-expensive-inflation/) before President Donald Trump took office. The cost of beans soared in late 2024, due partly to supply concerns following a drought (and other severe weather) in Brazil, where about 30% of the U.S.'s coffee supply originates. Tariffs have now added another challenge for the coffee market on top of existing climate-related issues. In January, when Trump threatened unexpected tariffs on Colombia, coffee prices jumped again. Then, in April, an announcement of a 46% tariff rate on Vietnam, also a coffee exporter, added further pressure to prices. Threats of high tariffs on coffee-producing countries intensified this summer. In July, Trump placed a 50% tariff rate on Brazil, the world's leading coffee exporter, immediately causing panic in the coffee industry. The cost of a pound of ground roast coffee reached a [record](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000717311#) of $8.87 in August. On Sept. 5, the situation turned even more complicated when the president issued an [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/modifying-the-scope-of-reciprocal-tariffs-and-establishing-procedures-for-implementing-trade-and-security-agreements/) laying out a path to a 0% tariff rate for items that "cannot be grown, mined or naturally produced" domestically. Coffee fits that bill, but the exemption is contingent on the administration coming to agreements with trading partners. In addition to Brazil, the other top countries for U.S. coffee imports are Colombia (10% tariff rate) and Switzerland (39% tariff rate). The new bill introduced to Congress by Bacon and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would lower tariffs on coffee to Biden-era rates. According to a press release from the lawmakers, "That level was 0% on everything other than coffee substitutes containing coffee." ## Will the "No Coffee Tax Act" pass? For the bill to move through Congress, Bacon and Khanna would need additional Republicans to support the legislation, which defies the president's tariff goals. To date, Trump has enacted his tariffs through executive actions, sidestepping the need to round up support from Republicans in Congress, where the GOP majority is thin. It's not clear where every member stands on tariff issues. Historically, many Republican lawmakers have advocated for free trade. In May, for example, Sen. Ted Cruz, R.-Tx., said tariffs are a tax paid for by Americans. But going against the president on tariffs would carry political consequences for most lawmakers. The handful of senators who've criticized them already have risked fracturing their relationships with the White House. If prices continue to rise at the grocery store, is it possible that legislation such as the "No Coffee Tax Act" could gain momentum in Congress? Maybe. But is there a world in which this bill gets through Congress with enough support to overcome a veto? Probably not. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in a legal challenge to the president's tariffs in November in a case that could determine if the president can continue to rely on emergency powers for his tariff program. If not, the administration would need to look at other mechanisms for imposing tariffs — or try to get congressional approval. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/coffee-prices-soar-congress-tariff-repeal-bill/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tariffs", "item": "https://money.com/tariffs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tariffs Are Driving Up the Cost of Your Morning Coffee. 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