Orange Juice Importer Sues Trump Over Brazil Tariffs

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazil could push up the cost of orange juice at major American supermarkets like Aldi, Walmart, and Wegmans by as much as 25%, according to one U.S.-based importer, Alicia Wallace reported for CNN.

Johanna Foods’ customers include Aldi, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Wegmans, Safeway, and Albertsons. I Photo: Penn Valley Constructors, Inc. 

Johanna Foods, a U.S. importer and seller of orange juice, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that the threatened 50% tariffs on goods from Brazil would result in a nearly $70 million blow to its business and sharply higher prices for consumers.

The New Jersey-based company filed the complaint Friday in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, arguing that President Trump’s July 9 letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not a formal executive order and lacked a valid legal basis for imposing the tariff.

Calling itself a “cornerstone of the national orange juice supply chain,” Johanna Foods said in the filing that it and its Spokane, Washington-based subsidiary, Johanna Beverage Co., supply nearly 75% of private-label not-from-concentrate orange juice sold in the U.S.

Brazil, which produces 75% of global orange juice exports, supplies more than half of all juice consumed in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Johanna Foods’ customers include Aldi, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Wegmans, Safeway, and Albertsons. The company also markets its branded Tree Ripe orange juice in stores throughout the Northeast.