President Donald Trump's tariffs on green coffee beans, imposed in April 2025 and later exempted, caused price volatility and uncertainty for Montana roasters. Helena-based roaster Steven Ladefoged described weekly fluctuations in costs due to negotiations with various countries. While some benefits emerged for other sectors, the measures raised retail prices and strained importers.
In April 2025, during President Donald Trump's second term, tariffs of 10% to 15% were applied to imports of green coffee beans, escalating to 50% for some origins. These measures persisted until mid-November 2025, when the White House fully exempted unroasted beans. However, roasters like Steven Ladefoged in Helena continued to process pre-exempted stocks, facing ongoing cost challenges.
Ladefoged noted the unpredictability: “When Trump was originally kind of negotiating those deals, it was kind of weekly, depending on deals that were made with different countries … There was a lot of, like, imported food goods, coffee being included, excluded, from those tariffs as well. And so that kind of dramatically changed prices.” Tariffs varied by country, reaching 50% for Brazil, 46% for Vietnam, 26% for India, and 32% for Indonesia.
Efforts to mitigate the impact included bipartisan bills. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) introduced legislation 18 days before the November exemption. In the House, Representatives Ro Khanna (D-California) and Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) proposed a similar measure on September 19, 2025, gaining 11 cosponsors, with Bacon as the sole Republican signer.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, that the president lacked authority for the tariffs effective from April 2025. By then, green coffee had been exempt for three months, though instant coffee from Brazil faced a continued 50% duty. New tariffs followed on February 24, 2026, subject to congressional review after 150 days.
Katie Bennett of Café Imports, a Minneapolis wholesaler, explained pricing adjustments: “We put the tariff cost into the price per pound immediately. When they were removed, we removed those costs from our coffee. So ultimately the roaster was paying that additional cost, and it was up to them whether they passed that along to their consumers.” She added, “Everyone drinks coffee, and it can’t be grown in the U.S.”
Compounding factors included Brazil's drought-induced shortages, pushing green bean prices up $1.50 per pound to $4.26 in February 2025. Retail ground roast coffee hit a record $9.37 per pound in January 2026, a 33% increase from the prior year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Montana's Republican delegation offered mixed views. Representative Troy Downing stated, “The President’s tariffs have broadened market access for American producers, brought in billions in revenue, and precipitated historic trade deals.” Representative Ryan Zinke highlighted benefits for the Sibanye-Stillwater mine via 132% tariffs on Russian palladium: “President Trump is using targeted tariffs exactly as intended to protect American workers and strengthen American industry.” Senator Steve Daines' spokesperson Gabby Wiggins said, “Senator Daines commends President Trump for working to address trade imbalances for Montana farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers.”
Conversely, Montana Farmers Union President Walt Schweitzer welcomed the Supreme Court decision: “This is a win for Montana family farms and ranches and American families, but we’ve got a long ways to go.” The New York Federal Reserve estimated that U.S. businesses and consumers bore 94% of the tariff costs.
