The White House has moved to ease pressure on American shoppers after President Donald Trump signed an order removing tariffs on a long list of food imports, including coffee, bananas and beef. The decision marks one of the administration’s clearest shifts on trade policy as rising grocery costs continue to draw public concern following last week’s elections.
The order lists dozens of goods — from fruits like mangoes and avocados to spices and beef products — that will no longer carry the current baseline 10% import tax. The administration explained that the items selected are not produced in large enough quantities within the US, making the tariffs unnecessary.
Trump has for years defended his wide trade levies, saying they would not raise prices for Americans and arguing that affordability was a “new word” and a “con job” by Democrats. He has maintained that the taxes were needed to close the US trade gap and shield the country from what he has called “cheaters” who have “pillaged” the American market.
But the cost of food, especially beef, has become a political challenge for the administration. Only days ago, Trump demanded an investigation into the meat-packing sector, accusing top companies of “Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation”. At the same time, he has continued pushing his plan to offer Americans 2,000 dollars in tariff rebate cheques, even as the Supreme Court reviews whether he had the authority to issue them.
The new exemptions, however, show a clear break from the previous approach. They are meant to cool prices by withdrawing taxes on items that play a key role in household spending. Speaking on Friday, Trump said the goods being removed from the list are those not grown domestically, adding, “so there’s no protection of our industries, or our food products.”
He also told reporters he does not expect further changes to the policy, saying, “I don’t think it’ll be necessary.” On coffee prices, he added, “We just did a little bit of a rollback on some foods, like coffee as an example, where the prices of coffee were a little bit high. Now they'll be on the low side in a very short period of time.”
Economists have long warned that companies would pass tariff costs on to consumers, and recent inflation data appears to reflect that. Even though overall inflation in September was softer than expected, most items in the Labor Department’s report showed year-on-year increases, with groceries up 2.7%.
The White House said the updated exemptions will apply retroactively from midnight on Thursday, 13 November. The administration also noted that import taxes on coffee and bananas will fall further under trade agreements with four Latin American countries. This week, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both promised that coffee prices in the US would drop by 20 percent before the year ends.
The full exemption list includes more than 100 products. Among them are coffee, cocoa, teas, vanilla beans, a wide range of beef items, avocados, bananas, coconuts, guavas, mangoes, pineapples, peppers, tomatoes, and spices such as cinnamon, saffron, oregano, nutmeg, paprika and turmeric. It also covers a mix of nuts, grains, roots and seeds, including barley, cashews, pine nuts, tapioca, and water chestnuts.
