There’s trouble brewing in the U.S. tea industry. Members from all corners of the market have been closely watching the White House since President Trump began to initiate tariffs on imports in February.
The back-and-forth volley of tariffs between the United States and other countries can be hard to follow as it changes by the hour on some days. Where things stand at press time is a 10% universal tariff on all countries and a 90-day pause on additional "reciprocal" tariffs that was put in place on April 9. This pause is to allow the White House to negotiate with other countries on proposed tariffs—going both ways.
However, China, a major importer of tea to the U.S., is an exception to the above. On April 9, a days-long escalation of reciprocal tariffs between the two countries culminated in the Trump Administration levying a 145% reciprocal tariff against China. The tariffs on China were exempt from the pause and currently stand today.
World Tea News spoke to a number of players in the tea industry to find out what’s at stake and how they are adapting to the new economic climate.
The State of Tea Imports into the U.S.
First, to get an idea of the size of tea imports into the U.S., here are some figures:
Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC):
- In 2024, the U.S. imported $550 million of tea
- The main origins of the imports were: Japan ($107M), India ($65.1M), Argentina ($57.9M), China ($55.5M), and Sri Lanka ($46.7M)
- In January 2025, year-on-year imports of tea to the U.S. increased by 14.7%, due to an increase in imports from India (+$3.3M or 86.2%), Argentina (+$1.53M or 41.8%), and China (+$1.38M or 25.2%)
US Census Bureau via Firsd Tea:
- About one-third of 2024 US instant tea imports by value originated from China ($21.5 million)
- China showed the greatest gains in volume, increasing over 44% from 2023 to 2024
Overall, the United States is the second-largest importer of tea globally. While small quantities of tea are grown domestically, it is not a crop grown at scale, and so the country depends on imports.
Should Tea Be Exempt from Tariffs?
One of the goals of Trump’s tariffs is to make American-made, domestic products more affordable, and therefore more attractive, for U.S. consumers. But the domestic market for tea is too small to support the entire demand of the country. Plus, not all available tea types are grown here.
“The amount of tea grown in the U.S., whether specialty or not, represents about .02% of the tea imported into the U.S. In all cases, the U.S. cannot and will never be in a position to provide enough tea for domestic consumption,” says Peter Goggi, president of the Tea Association of the U.S.A., Inc. “This industry (along with coffee, cacao, and other agricultural products) should be exempt [from tariffs]. There is no infrastructure in place to produce these items in the U.S., and they are truly everyday necessities.”
Maria Uspenski, founder and CEO of whole leaf tea and teaware company The Tea Spot, agrees. “Tea is not an industry that threatens U.S. domestic production because tea can’t be grown here at scale," she says. "Our climate and soil, not to mention our labor rates, aren’t suited for it. What these tariffs are doing is creating unnecessary barriers for small businesses like ours that are building bridges between cultures, creating jobs, and supporting global agriculture through responsible sourcing."
Uspenski also sees a problem with the way tea has been categorized. “Specialty tea isn’t a bulk commodity—it’s a craft product, rooted in tradition and wellness,” she says. “It’s time for that distinction to be recognized. Treating it like a generic import misses the entire point of what we do. Lumping it in with commodity goods does a disservice to the entire supply chain—from grower to cup.”
Many in the tea industry worry that the ultimate effects of the tariffs will be limited accessibility to the world’s teas. “If oppressive trade barriers continue over the long term, it may be possible that a swath of consumers never have the privilege of tasting some of the truly classic and treasured teas of China and the world,” says Jason Walker, marketing director of wholesale premium teas, botanicals, and boba supplier Firsd Tea North America. “Economic and political barriers may prevent people from the chance to fall in love with teas like dragonwell or big red robe.”
The Cost of Tariffs
Aside from creating barriers to access, the more immediate effect of tariffs on tea will be seen in the prices.
“Any tariff on tea will potentially impact the consumer,” says Goggi, who says any amount—whether 10% or 145%—will drive up prices. “Tea growers at origin make very little profit. Any increase in cost cannot be absorbed by the supply chain and will be passed onto the consumer.
“The loser here is the consumer who should be encouraged to drink this healthful beverage, rather than discouraged through these misplaced tariffs.”
Uspenski is already seeing the effects of tariffs on her bottom line. She says they’ll consume 25% of her company’s cash—an unsustainable figure. “We’re now being penalized simply for sourcing our ingredients from where tea has always been grown,” she says. “These tariffs are forcing us to spend significantly more just to keep our core offerings available, which puts pressure on every part of our operation—from product development to packaging to giving back.”
And it’s not just tea from China that’s impacting her business. “None of our raw tea or herbal materials, with the exception of peppermint, originate from the U.S. China may be the largest single source, but we also source from India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Taiwan—all of which are now facing tariff-related cost increases. Together, these regions represent the vast majority of global tea production and nearly our entire sourcing map. The diversity of flavor, processing styles, and wellness benefits from these various origins is irreplaceable. The new tariffs have put strain across the board—not just in one category, but in everything from matcha to yerba mate.”
Finding Ways to Adapt
The companies we spoke to are trying to find ways to continue business with the tariffs that are currently in place.
Many focused on bulking up their stock ahead of the rise in tariffs. “We were able to get several containers on the water at some of the lower (27.5%) tariff levels, in addition to inventory we already had in stock,” says Walker. “We have not had a need to order teas at the triple-digit tariff rates, and we are in a position to wait and see at the moment.”
In addition to trying to avoid price increases, Uspenski has focused on exploring all available avenues. “We’ve already communicated to our wholesale partners that we’ll hold pricing steady for 30 days, but beyond that, we may need to make difficult choices,” she says. “We’re exploring every option: consolidating SKUs, adjusting package sizes, and rebalancing our sourcing mix. What we won’t do is compromise on quality or transparency. Tea is a wellness product—it deserves respect, not shortcuts.”
Uspenski has also resorted to reducing order volumes or delaying restocks on teas with an especially high cost. “We’re doing everything we can to maintain our sourcing relationships and honor the integrity of the products we produce,” she says. “Teas like handcrafted oolongs, jasmine pearls, and our higher end pu’ers are particularly affected due to their already high base cost and the additional financial hit from tariffs. These are not products that can be easily replaced or replicated elsewhere.”
One of the biggest concerns is keeping customers informed amidst the changes and resulting confusion surrounding the tariffs. “Customers have been reaching out to secure supply and understand the strategy going forward. Our work has focused on offering as much clarity to the situation and reassuring customers regarding inventory levels we brought into the US before the tariffs truly exploded,” says Walker.
And although Firsd Tea has been able to avoid raising prices in some cases, where they must, the company is careful to explain to the customer where the increases are coming from. “Our goal has been to avoid raising prices when possible. In some instances, we have had to add a ‘tariff surcharge’ that reflects a sharing of the tariff cost between Firsd Tea and our customers,” says Walker. “Aside from reassuring our customers that we are working to avoid raising prices, we try to emphasize that the tariff surcharges are a means of sharing the tariff burden and also emphasize that tariff surcharges can be removed in the future when conditions improve.”
Open communication is also the road Uspenski has taken with her customers. “We believe in honest, direct communication—especially with our most loyal, long-standing customers,” she says. “We’ve already started sharing how tariffs are impacting our ability to source and sustain pricing. Our customers value integrity, and we want them to know the truth: These changes aren’t coming from us, but we’re doing everything we can to protect the products they love.”
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