Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too.
Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher-priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state’s products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans.
While the discourse around trade and Trump’s "Buy American” mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state’s farmers is that "tariffs will probably hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,” said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms.
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