Trump readies tariff cuts on beef, bananas to help slash US grocery bills

President Trump is readying some substantial tariff cuts in a bid to address voter concerns over the rising cost of goods. Trump is hoping to ease high prices on coffee, bananas and other foods. The tariff cuts will come with a series of new trade deals, which will include framework agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador.

In addition, Trump has previewed broader tariff exemptions that could cut levies on popular food products across the board.

“Coffee, we’re going to lower some tariffs,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in an interview.

The push to reduce food prices comes after electoral wins for Democrats last week across a number of key state and local races where candidates stressed affordability concerns. The trade deals unveiled on Thursday with Latin American countries will see the US reduce tariffs and barriers on everyday grocery items like beef and coffee beans.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also hinted that the administration could take steps to ease prices on coffee and bananas, among other foods that have been hit hard by the president’s global tariffs.

Bessent added in his own Fox News interview: “You’re going to see some substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States, coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits, things like that.”

The comments come as Trump attempts to ward off concerns over inflation and affordability, which many Republicans blame for electoral struggles earlier this month. Trump has also in recent days floated the possibility of a tariff “dividend” for many Americans.

Trump recently acknowledged that US consumers are “paying something” for his tariffs, the bulk of which face a looming verdict from the Supreme Court.

In a closely watched case, a majority of the justices — both the court’s three liberal-leaning justices, as well as three more conservative ones — offered skeptical questions regarding the president’s authority to impose his most sweeping duties. If the Supreme Court does not side with Trump, it’s widely expected that the administration will seek out alternative methods to carry out the US trade agenda.

Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

• The EU said it will propose a plan to the US that would allow the next phase of the trade agreement to be implemented. The two sides reached a deal back in July and the EU is keen to move forward with the next phase.

• Brazil said it hopes to reach a preliminary trade deal with the US this month, as relations between the two sides improve.

• 67% of Canadians say it’s unlikely a deal to lower US tariffs will be achieved in the next six months, according to a poll by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News.

• China is dealing with a glut of soybeans after months of record imports, which could curb prospects of US exports despite a truce that Washington said included a pledge by Beijing to start buying soybeans again. “There is not much room for China to increase soybean imports. Soybean stocks are huge and demand for the feed sector is very slow,” Reuters reported one trader as saying.

• The development comes weeks after the US and China reached their truce. The thaw means China will suspend additional export controls on rare earth metals and end investigations into US chip companies. As part of the deal, the US will pause some of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on China for another year. (Read more: What are rare earth minerals, and why are they important?)

• Trump said that “at some point,” he would reduce the tariff rate on Indian goods, and that the US was getting “close” to a trade deal with New Delhi.

• Switzerland is also close to securing a 15% tariff on its exports to the US. According to people familiar with the matter, a deal may be concluded by the end of this week.

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