Tariffs shake up global spice market

The Trump administration's trade policy stands to raise prices for vanilla, cinnamon and dozens of other flavoring ingredients used in food manufacturing.

What happened

The global spice market is feeling the heat from President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

Tariffs as high as 50% are scheduled to take effect Aug. 1 on more than a dozen countries without bilateral trade agreements in place. This comes after the United States imposed 10% base tariffs earlier this year, raising costs for food manufacturers and ingredients suppliers.

Why it matters

The U.S. imported more than $2 billion of spices from more than 50 countries in 2024, according to the American Spice Trade Association. Many of these are flavoring ingredients used in "hundreds of billions of pounds of food produced by American food manufacturers," the association said in a March letter to the Trump administration.

While the tariff impact on chocolate and coffee has dominated headlines, there are dozens of spices and seasonings set to face higher prices from increasing import duties. Most of these products cannot be commercially grown in the U.S., meaning costs will likely be passed on to consumers without resulting in expanded domestic production.

For example, black pepper requires the hot and humid environment found in places such as India, Vietnam and Brazil. Vanilla is primarily grown in Madagascar and requires specific temperature ranges and hand-pollination techniques. Cinnamon is harvested from tree bark native to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. It would not be able to survive U.S. winters.

This news brief is based on reporting published by Food Dive on 2025-07-10. The original report is linked below.