Sponsors (5)
Last progress October 29, 2025 (4 months ago)
Introduced on October 29, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto
Prohibits raising tariffs above the rates that were in effect on January 19, 2025 for certain coffee products imported from countries with which the United States has normal trade relations. The protection covers roasted and decaffeinated coffee, coffee husks and skins, and coffee-containing substitutes, and prevents higher, country-specific tariffs even if other laws or emergency authorities would otherwise allow them. The measure freezes tariff levels for the listed coffee products at the specified baseline date, limiting the government’s ability to impose higher duties on those goods going forward.
Scope: This section applies notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation that imposes tariffs on a country-by-country basis, including any authority related to imposing tariffs under emergency situations.
Prohibits imposing any tariff or other duty in excess of the rate that was assessed on January 19, 2025 for covered articles imported from countries to which the United States has extended normal trade relations.
Defines an article described in subsection (b) as: coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated.
Defines an article described in subsection (b) as: coffee husks and skins.
Defines an article described in subsection (b) as: coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion.
Who is affected and how:
Importers and distributors of coffee products: Directly benefit from a predictable tariff ceiling because they cannot face higher duties for the covered categories than those in effect on January 19, 2025. This lowers the risk of sudden cost increases tied to tariff hikes.
Coffee roasters, processors, retailers, and cafes: Gain greater price and supply stability for coffee inputs, which can reduce supply-chain uncertainty and help with pricing and purchasing decisions.
Consumers: May experience more stable retail prices because a potential source of sudden tariff-driven cost increases is blocked. The law does not guarantee lower prices, only protection from tariff increases above the baseline.
Foreign coffee exporters and producing-country economies: Benefit from a more predictable U.S. tariff environment for these products, which could stabilize demand and trade relationships with the U.S.
Federal trade and customs authorities / Executive branch: Lose some policy flexibility because they would be unable to raise tariffs on these specific products above the stated baseline even when other statutes or emergency authorities might otherwise permit such action.
Fiscal impact: Likely minimal and indirect; the provision preserves existing tariff revenue levels rather than creating new revenue or spending obligations. If previously contemplated tariff increases are blocked, potential additional revenue from higher tariffs would not materialize.
Overall, the measure is narrowly targeted, mainly affecting the import and sale chain for coffee products and reducing the government’s ability to use tariffs on these items as a policy tool.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.