Walk into any major American supermarket today, whether it is Aldi, Walmart, or Wegmans, and you might feel a sting in your wallet when you reach for orange juice. The reason for the potential jump in price is not a poor harvest or sudden spike in demand. Instead, it is tied to a brewing trade fight between the United States and Brazil, and one American juice company is at the center of the clash.
Johanna Foods has become a household name by supplying nearly three quarters of all private label not-from-concentrate orange juice found on American shelves. Now, the company is urging shoppers to brace for possible sticker shock. Johanna Foods has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the Court of International Trade, arguing that newly announced tariffs on Brazilian imports could cause orange juice prices to leap by as much as 25 percent. The tariffs, slated to take effect August 1st, would add a 50 percent surcharge to goods imported from Brazil. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of orange juice and a critical supplier to the United States.
President Donald Trump made the announcement in a July 9th letter posted on social media, signaling the administration’s intent to penalize Brazil for a host of grievances ranging from political disputes to trade imbalances. Johanna Foods’ leadership is challenging not just the economic impact, but also the legality of the move. Company attorneys argue that Trump’s letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva does not constitute a formal executive order nor does it reference any legal authority for imposing the tariff. In the complaint, the company says the threatened tariff hike would hit its operations with nearly $70 million in additional annual costs, a sum that would wipe out more than any single year’s profit since the company was founded in 1995.
Robert Facchina, CEO of Johanna Foods, does not mince words about the possible impact. He warns that if the tariff takes effect, American consumers should expect to pay between twenty and twenty-five percent more for orange juice on their next grocery run, with the company forced to cut staff and shrink production to survive. Given that more than half of all U.S. orange juice comes from Brazil, there is simply not enough domestic supply to make up the shortfall, a fact acknowledged by trade data and industry watchers alike.
The U.S. citrus industry has grappled with a host of challenges, including hurricanes, crop-destroying disease, and cold weather that have slashed domestic production to the lowest level in fifty years. Today, nine in ten gallons of orange juice on American tables are imported, and Brazil provides most of it. Well-known brands like Tropicana, Minute Maid, and Simply Orange have depended on this supply chain for years. Replacing Brazil as a supplier will not be easy. In 2023, Brazil exported more than three hundred thousand metric tons of orange juice worldwide, with over ninety thousand metric tons sent to the U.S. alone.
Industry voices warn this is not just a story about breakfast. It is about global agriculture, trade policy, and the real-life consequences of economic showdowns. The CitrusBR industry association says that many Brazilian orange farmers, facing uncertainty over access to the U.S. market, are considering leaving fruit to rot in the orchards. The price of oranges in Brazil has already plummeted as suppliers brace for U.S. buyers to vanish, while futures contracts for orange juice have surged nearly forty percent this month alone in the wake of the tariff announcement.
Meanwhile, the legal arguments are as heated as the economic ones. Johanna Foods contends the White House cannot use a simple letter as a vehicle for a sweeping trade crackdown and that the move oversteps the boundaries placed on executive power by both statute and the Constitution. They are not the only company worried. Major beverage heavyweights such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which account for about sixty percent of U.S. orange juice sales, have yet to comment publicly, but their bottom lines are likely to be affected.
The lawsuit is still unfolding. For now, American orange juice drinkers are left to watch as the wrangling between governments, courts, and corporations plays out, all while the possibility of a more expensive glass of orange juice at breakfast edges closer to reality.
