International Coffee Agreement

The war had created the conditions for a Latin American coffee agreement: European markets were closed off, the price of coffee was in decline and the United States feared that the declining price could drive Latin American countries—especially Brazil—towards Nazi or Communist sympathies.

[11] With the retained quotas from the 1983 agreement, the change increased the value of milder coffee at the expense of more traditional varieties such as robusta.

[12] Brazil in particular – the world's most powerful coffee producer – refused to reduce its quotas believing it would lower their market share.

[13] Jorio Dauster, head of the state-controlled Brazilian Coffee Institute, described Brazil as an "extremely efficient producer" and believed it could survive without help from ICO.

[11][13] The 1983 ICA was set to expire on 1 October 1989, but realizing that it would be impossible to enter into a new agreement before the termination date, the Coffee Council (ICO's highest body) effectively decided to suspend the export quotas on 4 July 1989.

The current 2007 ICA entered into force on 2 February 2011 when it was approved by two-thirds of the exporting and importing signatory governments.