Questão Comentada · 45
1º Semestre · B3GE™
TEXTO DE APOIO (clique para abrir / fechar)
A good cup of coffee is an affordable luxury. Unfortunately, it’s becoming less affordable by the day.
In a major shift to U.S. trade policy, the Trump administration’s April 2nd “Liberation Day” tariff package has introduced import duties [tarifas] on raw coffee beans, a move that’s sparking [provocando] alarm in an industry already strained [sobrecarregada] by record-high prices.
In February 2025, the global price of arabica coffee reached US$4.41 per pound, the highest price in history, surpassing the spikes [picos] of 2011 and the Brazilian frost [geada] crisis of 1975. That milestone [marco] occurred before any tariffs were announced, and though the price has since receded, it remains at elevated levels. As of June 2025, a pound of roasted coffee cost U.S. customers nearly 13 percent more than it did a year earlier.
Now, with new duties added, a wave of panic is rippling [espalhando-se] through the global coffee trade. The United States is the world’s largest importer of raw coffee.
Coffee, much like bananas, is a tropical fruit. But coffee is even pickier [mais exigente]: it doesn’t need just the heat and humidity of the tropics; it can typically grow only at tropical altitudes. These conditions are found almost exclusively in a narrow band around the Equator, often referred to as the “coffee belt.” Within the United States, only a tiny fraction of land in Hawaii and Puerto Rico meets these requirements, making domestic coffee farming extremely limited.
Though some farmers are finding success growing coffee in the microclimate of Southern California, American labor costs and limited production keep California-grown coffee at a price point [faixa de preço] that most Americans simply cannot afford.
Despite that, the United States is the largest coffee-consuming nation in the world. And an enormous amount of work happens after the coffee leaves the farm: importing across oceans, processing and grading [classificação], transporting to roasters [torrefadores de café], roasting [torrefação] to bring out flavor, packaging, and finally preparing, selling, and serving it to millions of people every day. Coffee farming might start in the tropics, but the coffee industry inside U.S. borders is massive.
For decades, coffee entered the country duty-free, a recognition of its foundational role in a U.S. industry that supports more than 1.7 million American jobs. That exemption is now gone. In April, the Trump administration implemented a 10 percent baseline tariff on nearly all imported coffee. This month, it raised tariffs on dozens of trading partners, with coffee-producing nations India, Indonesia and Vietnam facing sharply higher rates. Coffee from countries with strong trade agreements with the U.S., including Mexico and Colombia, remains exempt, for the most part. Yet Brazil, the world’s largest producer of coffee, was slapped last week with a 50 percent tariff. Brazil provides about 30 percent of the coffee consumed in the United States, so this will massively impact both coffee prices and the industry within U.S. borders.
QUESTÃO
In the last paragraph, the sentence “That exemption is now gone” most likely refers to which of the following?
U.S. coffee industry employees will not get special government help if they lose their jobs.
Coffee imported from Mexico and Colombia will be subject to a 50 percent tariff.
The U.S. government will no longer give a certain kind of special treatment to imported coffee.
India, Indonesia, and Vietnam will severely reduce the amount of coffee they export to the U.S.
The U.S. government has denied Brazil’s request for lower tariffs on the coffee it exports to the U.S.
🔐 Gabarito (clique para revelar)
🧭 Leitura orientada
A questão exige identificar o referente da expressão “That exemption is now gone”, ou seja, compreender a que política ou prática anterior o autor está se referindo no último parágrafo.
🔍 Identificação das informações-chave
O texto afirma que, por décadas, o café entrou nos Estados Unidos sem a incidência de tarifas de importação, em reconhecimento ao papel central do produto na indústria cafeeira americana. Em seguida, o autor afirma que essa isenção deixou de existir após a implementação das novas tarifas.
🧠 Núcleo de sentido
A expressão “That exemption is now gone” retoma diretamente a isenção tarifária que antes beneficiava o café importado, indicando que o governo dos EUA encerrou esse tratamento especial.
🔍 Análise alternativa por alternativa (com pegadinhas)
(A) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: a frase não se refere
a benefícios trabalhistas ou apoio governamental a empregados.
(B) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto afirma que México e Colômbia
permanecem, em grande parte, isentos.
(C) ✅ Correta — GABARITO
A alternativa expressa exatamente o sentido do trecho:
o governo dos EUA deixou de conceder
um tratamento tarifário especial
ao café importado.
(D) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: não há menção a redução voluntária
das exportações por esses países.
(E) ❌ Errada
Pegadinha: o texto menciona a tarifa elevada sobre o Brasil,
mas não fala em pedidos negados por redução.
🧠 Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ Questão de referência textual (“that exemption”).
✔ Retoma a isenção tarifária histórica do café.
✔ Mudança direta na política comercial dos EUA.
🔎 Gabarito confirmado: (C)