Arizona Roaster Who Paid Tariffs on His Imported Coffee Unable to Claim Tariff Refund – CoffeeTalk

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The shock of tariffs came as a surprise to Gabe Hagen, co-founder and CEO of Brick Road Community Corporation, a coffee shop and coffee roasting company in Tempe, Arizona. In 2024, Hagen and his husband were in the process of expanding their business to a second location with roasting facilities. Then, just as they were ready to open their doors in the summer of 2025, tariffs hit them.

“Our first inventory purchase for the roastery was so much higher than we had originally planned because we didn’t plan for tariffs.”

Now, with tariff refunds available, Hagen finds himself facing a new ordeal: Though he pays for imported goods like green coffee, he isn’t the actual importer of record. As a result, Hagen can’t claim the tariffs he paid through the current government portal.

“That’s been frustrating, because there’s nothing that requires them to then pass it back down to me. So I’m still in this gray area of like, ‘Will I see any refunds back?’”

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