Your morning cup of coffee is about to cost even more — thanks to U.S. tariffs

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The terms of a cupful of java successful Canada is expected to emergence arsenic the satellite continues to consciousness the effects of U.S President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to manufacture experts and cafés.

Trump had threatened highly steep tariffs connected coffee-producing countries similar Vietnam, Indonesia and India earlier this period — earlier saying helium would intermission those tariff rates and enforce a 10 per cent baseline rate for each imported goods.

While those rates would beryllium paid by U.S. importers, galore Canadian java roasters and brands root their merchandise from U.S. wholesalers and warehouses.

Experts accidental this means the terms of java successful Canada, which has been connected the emergence for years, volition spell up further arsenic Canadian java brands person to wage the accrued costs, arsenic good arsenic counter-tariffs connected U.S. goods that they import.

"It's decidedly going to beryllium a  shock, I think, for Canadian java roasters, Canadian importers, businesses that merchantability java successful Canada," said Stuart McCook, a past prof astatine the University of Guelph.

"It marks a existent displacement from a humanities relationship, wherever the Canadian and American java commercialized were precise tightly integrated and goods tended to travel with a fewer to nary tariffs."

The prof said it's hard to cognize precisely however overmuch consumers volition extremity up paying arsenic tariffs instrumentality hold.

Robert Carter, the Coffee Association of Canada (CAC) president, said the spectre of tariffs adds to the information that raw greenish java legume prices are already astatine the highest levels successful years.

Statistics Canada information shows that the terms of java successful B.C. went up 15 per cent from 2024 to 2025 alone, a leap of a dollar for a container of coffee.

"The anticipation is that we volition proceed to spot elevated prices for immoderate time," Carter said. "There are immoderate different elements specified arsenic clime alteration that are truly affecting harvest harvests and whatnot.

"It's going to beryllium a hard play for java ... for the foreseeable aboriginal wide and past the tariffs, obviously, conscionable adding a small spot of substance to that fire."

The CAC estimates that 74 per cent of Canadians portion a cupful of joe daily. And the state imported much than 25 cardinal kilograms of java successful June 2024 alone, Statistics Canada said. 

Call to bargain locally-roasted coffee

In summation to the tariffs connected coffee-producing countries, Trump has imposed 25 per cent tariffs connected Canadian goods that aren't compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — and java isn't included successful that escaped commercialized policy.

That means immoderate Canadian companies that bargain earthy java beans, and past roast or process them and privation to merchantability products to the U.S., would look steep markups.

Carter said that amounts to much than $1 billion worthy of roasted coffee, and different products, that could beryllium importantly impacted by the 25 per cent U.S. tariffs.

Matt Johnson, who owns Vancouver's Prototype Coffee, roasts his ain java and ships it crossed Canada and the U.S.

While helium said his concern won't beryllium significantly affected by the 25 per cent tariffs, the café proprietor said larger brands are apt to beryllium — and they'll besides beryllium incapable to root ample amounts of java for Canadians astatine standard without going done the U.S.

"That's each the much crushed to steer radical successful to the absorption of java businesses that are funny successful those nonstop connections with the farmers, and are not going done the U.S. markets," helium said. "I deliberation that those prices are going to beryllium much stable."

Laura Perry, who operates the Luna Coffee roastery just extracurricular Vancouver, acknowledged that immoderate smaller roasters are besides going to beryllium impacted, arsenic the Canadian specialty java importing assemblage is inactive rather small.

"I don't expect that we'll commencement seeing those tariffs, if applicable to us, tacked connected to our arrivals until similar precocious June," she said of her ain business.

Perry said java has been importantly undervalued for decades successful Canada — and the tariffs were arsenic bully a crushed arsenic immoderate to bargain java that is sourced ethically.

"What these tariffs, connected apical of everything else, has revealed to the world, I think, is however interconnected we are with 1 another, however overmuch we trust connected 1 different and besides however things should beryllium valued," she said.