President Donald Trump on Friday moved to ease pressure on American consumers by signing an executive order exempting a wide array of food imports — including coffee, beef, bananas, tea, and several other staples — from his reciprocal tariff policies.
The White House said the order reflects the president’s judgment that “certain agricultural products shall no longer be subject to the reciprocal tariffs,” a shift that comes as grocery prices remain a potent political concern.
The rollback applies to coffee, tea, tropical fruits, fruit juices, cocoa, oranges and tomatoes, items that the United States imports in large quantities from trading partners across the Western Hemisphere. For months, consumers and retailers have voiced frustration over high food costs, even as Trump has campaigned on a promise to bring down prices.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the decision builds on a foundation the president laid earlier this year. Desai pointed to a September 5 executive order in which Trump “specifically laid out various natural resources and agricultural products not produced in the United States that could be eligible for tariff-free treatment.”
He added that the new exemptions follow “a spate of new trade deals being inked with some of our biggest allies in the western hemisphere, in addition to the deals that President Trump has already secured with the EU, Japan, the UK, and other major trading partners.”
Administration officials have argued that the president’s reciprocal tariff strategy has strengthened America’s bargaining position abroad, enabling the United States to secure concessions from foreign governments while protecting domestic industries. The latest exemptions, they say, reflect that success — lowering costs for families without weakening the broader trade framework.
Still, Trump’s critics seized on the timing. Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, claimed the administration is “finally admitting publicly what we’ve all known from the start: Trump’s Trade War is hiking costs on people.” He accused the White House of “putting out a fire they started and claiming it as progress.”
The president’s order comes on the heels of electoral setbacks for Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey, raising questions about the political impact of persistent voter anxiety over household expenses.
For Trump, the tariff exemptions offer an opportunity to highlight new trade deals and to demonstrate responsiveness to public concerns. The administration has insisted that the president’s approach is already yielding benefits and that the latest move is part of a broader effort to ensure that tariffs are targeted, fair, and aligned with national interests.
Whether the shift will translate into lower prices at supermarkets — or greater confidence in Trump’s handling of the economy — remains to be seen. But the president’s decision underscores the political and economic pressures shaping trade policy as he seeks to reassure voters that he remains committed to easing the financial burdens they face.
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