ICYMI: Cortez Masto Pushed for Repeal of Trump’s Coffee Tax

In Case You Missed It, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the bipartisan No Coffee Tax Act alongside Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to repeal President Donald Trump's tariffs on coffee and lower costs for consumers. Following Cortez Masto's consistent pushes to repeal the coffee tariffs, the Trump Administration on Friday announced plans to exempt certain imports not grown in the United States - like coffee - from his blanket tariffs.

"I'm glad the Administration has finally heeded my call to get rid of the tariffs on some coffee imports, but there are still needless tariffs on Brazilian coffee," said Senator Cortez Masto. "It never made sense for coffee - which we do not grow enough of in the United States - to be subject to tariffs. We don't need and have never needed a tax on our morning cup of coffee."

Coffee production is not an industry the U.S. can reasonably onshore, and the U.S. is the largest importer of coffee in the world. More than 99 percent of all coffee in the United States is imported. Brazil, the top source for U.S. coffee imports, had previously faced a 50% tariff under the Trump Administration's tariff policy, and, despite the recent news, is still subject to 40% tariffs, contributing to higher coffee prices. U.S. retail coffee prices increased by nearly 21% in August compared to the same month last year.

Read more:

Las Vegas Sun: Tariffs take toll on Las Vegas coffee industry despite Trump rollback

By Kyle Chouinard

• In Southern Nevada, coffee shops and roasteries that talked to the Sun described tightening margins due to tariffs and other market forces as they resist raising prices on customers.
• "I'm hearing from coffee roasters and wholesalers in Nevada who have had to raise their prices to offset these tariffs," Cortez Masto said. "That's filtering down to local coffee shops and other small businesses, who are now raising prices for consumers."

Watch more:

KRNV, Reno (Broadcast)

Reporter: "[…] over the past few months, coffee lovers across the nation have seen a bump in price of their favorite drink."

Cortez Masto: "We've got a lot of local businesses that rely on getting that coffee to keep their businesses open and employ Nevadans. They are seeing those prices increase. They don't want to have to pass that off to the consumer."

MSNBC (Cable)

Cortez Masto: "It is having a negative impact on my small businesses, my coffee shops in Nevada. But if even if you're a restaurant, a breakfast restaurant or one of the restaurants in our hotels and casinos and you're serving coffee, you're paying a higher price and that is getting passed off to the consumer. There's a problem there."

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