WASHINGTON (AP) β PresidentΒ Donald TrumpΒ announced Friday that he was scrappingΒ U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swath of other commodities β a dramatic move that cfomes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices.
Trump has built his second term around imposing steep levies on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of encouraging domestic production and lifting the U.S. economy. His abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to the American diet is significant, and it comes after voters in off-year elections this month citedΒ economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey and other key races around the country.
βWe just did a little bit of a rollback on some foods like coffee,β Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida hours after the tariff announcement was made.
Pressed on his tariffs helping to increase consumer prices, Trump acknowledged, βI say they may, in some cases” have that effect.
βBut to a large extent theyβve been borne by other countries,β the president added.
Meanwhile, inflation β despite Trump’s pronouncements that it has vanished since he took office in January β remainsΒ elevated, further increasing pressure on U.S. consumers.
The Trump administration has insisted that its tariffs had helped fill government coffers and weren’t a major factor in higher prices at grocery stores around the country. But Democrats were quick to paint Friday’s move as an acknowledgement that Trump’s policies were hurting American pocketbooks.
βPresident Trump is finally admitting what we always knew: his tariffs are raising prices for the American people,” Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer said in a statement. βAfter getting drubbed in recent elections because of votersβ fury that Trump has broken his promises to fix inflation, the White House is trying to cast this tariff retreat as a βpivot to affordability.'”
Grocery bill worries
Trump slappedΒ tariffs on most countriesΒ around the globe in April. He and his administration still say that tariffs donβt increase consumer prices,Β despite economic evidenceΒ to the contrary.
Record-high beef pricesΒ have been a particular concern, and Trump had said he intended to take action to try and lower them. TrumpβsΒ tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, had been a factor.
Trump signed an executive order that also removes tariffs on tea, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes and certain fertilizers. Some of the products covered arenβt produced in the United States, meaning that tariffs meant to spur domestic production had little effect. But reducing the tariffs will still likely mean lower prices for U.S. consumers.
The Food Industry Association, which represents retailers, producers and a variety of related industry firms and services, applauded Trump’s move to provide βswift tariff relief,β noting that import U.S. taxes “are an important factorβ in a βcomplex mixβ of supply chain issues.
βPresident Trumpβs proclamation to reduce tariffs on a substantial volume of food imports is a critical step ensuring continued adequate supply at prices consumers can afford,β the association said in a statement.
In explaining the tariff reductions, the White House said Friday that some of the original levies Trump relished imposing on nearly every country on earth months ago were actually no longer necessary given the trade agreements he’d since hammered out with key U.S. trading partners.
Indeed, Friday’s announcement follows the Trump administration having reachedΒ framework agreementsΒ with Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina meant to increase the ability of U.S. firms to sell industrial and agricultural products in these countries, while also potentially easing tariffs on agricultural products produced there.
During an interview that aired earlier in the week with Laura Ingraham of Fox News Channel, Trump hinted that lower tariffs might be coming.
βCoffee, weβre going to lower some tariffs,β the president said then. βWeβre going to have some coffee come in.β
Tariff checks?
Despite pulling back on so many tariffs, Trump used his comments aboard Air Force One on Friday night to repeat his past assertions that his administration would use revenue the federal government has collected from import levies to fundΒ $2,000 checksΒ for many Americans.
The president suggested such checks could be issued in 2026, but was vague on timing, saying only, βSometime during the year.β Trump, however, also said federal tariff revenue might be used to pay down national debt β raising questions about how much federal funding would be needed to do both.
Trump rejected suggestions that attempting direct payments to Americans could exacerbate inflation concerns β even as he suggested that similar checks offered during the coronavirus pandemic, and by previous administrations to stimulate the economy, had that very effect.
βThis is money earned as opposed to money that was made up,β Trump said. βEverybody but the rich will get this. Thatβs not made up. Thatβs real money. That comes from other countries.β
