Trump’s cold water beer: New York coffee shop warns higher prices amid steep tariffs | Trump tariffs

The Trump administration targets 50% of steep U.S. tariffs. The center of the coffee shop New York Preparing for impact.

When the Trump administration announced another wave of comprehensive tariffs, especially Brazilthe executive partner of Stone Street Cafe was first confused. Then there is fear. A café is already running on a slender margin, and tariffs through extra fees can be risky.

“If these tariffs are long-term, it will put our business at risk,” Antony Garrigues,,,,, said the managing partner of Stone Street Cafe. “In New York City, the operating costs are already high,,,,, These tariffs will make everything more expensive.

“in the end,,,,, If people can’t afford our coffee,,,,, And we don’t have profit margins, we won’t do it. ”

Manhattan-based Stone Street Cafe offers green coffee beans from green coffee beans in 35 different countries, including Brazil. But Brazil is not the only coffee-producing country facing tariff pressure: Vietnam, ColombiaEthiopia and Indonesia are also affected.

“These tariffs are not paid by the country. The fees are attributed to business owners and consumers,” Garrigues noted. “At present, we will try to absorb as much as possible [of] Our possible costs. But at the end of the day, it’s a business – so we may have to raise the price. ”

With the growing impact of climate change, coffee prices have expanded, and other cafes have done so.

In addition to the Ciao Gloria, Cooked Cookie from Brooklyn, cocoa powder is also imported from Brazil. Jam from Italy now faces 15% tariffs on Trump’s exports from the EU. The cafe will raise the price by about 25 cents, but plans to absorb any other tariff charges at least for the time being.

“I’m selling sugar and caffeine – I’m basically a drug dealer,” joked by owner Renato Poliafito. “So, I wanted to make sure the menu is affordable.”

But then he became very serious. “We have to be alert to analyzing the situation before raising the price.”

The client is already reviewing the receipt. According to official data, U.S. coffee prices rose 14.5% as of July.

“It’s the idea of moving baseline, we normalize things that shouldn’t be normalizing things that we shouldn’t be [be]this is terrible.

Aley Longo, 28, has a daily cafe tour to make sure she escapes the scope of her studio apartment and talks with people working outside in an “affordable” way. Now it’s strictly a weekend event.

Trump’s tariffs are “harmful to Americans, our quality of life is bad”, Longo said: “We are suffering, whether it’s as small as being able to buy coffee or something biggertransparent.

Those behind the counter know the feeling of watching the price of regular purchases grow. Allon Azulai, which owns Kos Kaffe in Brooklyn, imports beans from countries such as Colombia, Honduras and Kenya, describes the tight weekly demand for the latest prices to suppliers as tariffs and increasing demand is huge.

“At the moment, the industry is so unstable, if the tariffs continue, I’m worried that cafes without big pockets will not survive,” Azulai said.

“Direct to the US consumer”

With the pressure from American cafes, the coffee producers they come from are also preparing to interrupt.

Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter. The United States is its main destination for coffee: about one-third of the coffee imported is Brazilian.

Brazilian soluble coffee Industry associations representing producers say 50% of U.S. U.S. export tariffs equal “obvious competition disadvantage” as other leading coffee producers face lower interest rates ranging from 10% to 27%.

“This decision not only hurts the Brazilian industry, but also can have a negative impact on American consumers who benefit from the quality and competitive prices of our coffee,” he said. The association said.

Brazilian producers and exporters still hope they can lobby for coffee to be exempt from U.S. tariffs, believing that the U.S. produces very little coffee at home. They pointed out that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously suggested that products not grown on U.S. soil could impose zero tariffs.

If that makes the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Commission say it will seek to reduce the tariffs on coffee to at least 10%, which is consistent with other Brazilian commodities, including oil, orange juice and aircraft. “We remain optimistic and hopeful.” The Council said.

New coffee export deals with the United States Being shelved The shipment ready to depart is stuck in storage, increasing the cost of exporters. At the same time, China has approved 183 New Brazilian Company The Exporters Council warns that exporting coffee may take time to achieve.

exist Vietnam Colombia is the second and third largest coffee nation in the world, respectively – exporters hope that lowering U.S. tariffs will help them steal Brazil’s march.

“The United States cannot grow coffee on a large scale, so the tariffs are not taken home,” said Timen Swijtink, founder of Lacàph Coffee in Vietnam. “With the tiny profits in our industry, any tariff costs are directly attributed to the U.S. consumers.transparent

Swijtink added that even when Vietnam’s tariffs on Vietnam hit 20%, farmers in the country “are resilient and will find new markets” and that “China’s demand grows like a rocket ship as global demand is strong.”

Small coffee growers across the country shrugged as they were only at the baseline of 10% Colombian tariffs. “At least, at least, the coffee farmers can’t feel at this point,” said José David Posada, the fourth generation coffee farmer and owner of Capilla del Rosario in Finca, Medellín. “Exporters will be affected.”

Among some, Trump’s tariff war could even help Colombia’s business, considering Brazil’s tariffs are 50%. Coffee cultivation in the country is crucial to the national economy, representing 8% of Colombia’s total exports.

“Brazil has higher tariffs, which obviously will have a positive impact on us, right?” Posada said.

Guilherme Morya, a coffee analyst at Rabobank, said that at least in the short term, the 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee could shift U.S. buyers to other sources. “Colombia gained a price advantage and was the second largest supplier, and it became the most obvious candidate to fill this gap,” he said.

But Alejandro Lloreda, a farmer from Cafetal de la Trinidad, a family-run Cafetal de la Trinidad, who produces specialty coffee, warned that the difference will only give Colombia a “temporary advantage.” “A coffee tree could take two to three years of production, and the tariff situation could change,” he said.

Back in New York, the cafe owner found himself in an equally uncertain position.

“Tariffs are a damage to small businesses,” said Ciao Gloria’s Poliafito. “Large businesses can find solutions. But we will suffer costs.”

“It’s horrible to not know if we can continue our business,” added Nick Kim, Koré Coffee manager in Manhattan. “It’s shameful and sad that you know bad things are coming, but you can’t do anything to change it. We have no choice but to see what happens.”