The Trump administration's steep import tariff on Brazilian coffee looks set to reshuffle trade routes for beans from the world's top grower and exporter, benefiting China and incentivizing traders to look for indirect routes into the U.

When President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports to the United States, coffee producers from Varre-Sai, a small city in the north of Rio de Janeiro’s state, saw their expectations for this year’s harvest clouded by uncertainty.

President Trump plans to levy a 50% tariff on all goods from Brazil — the source of about 30% of U.S. coffee imports. This looming tariff threat has sent shock waves through the U.S. coffee industry.