Trump Rolling Back Tariffs On Range of Common Grocery Items
President Donald J. Trump moved Friday to strategically narrow the scope of his global tariff initiative, rolling back duties on several grocery staples as the administration responds to mounting public irritation over stubborn food prices. In a Nov. 14 executive order, the White House said fresh trade progress and updated recommendations made it “necessary and appropriate to further modify the scope” of tariff-covered items.
The order clarified that “certain agricultural products shall not be subject to the reciprocal tariff imposed under Executive 14257, as amended.”
The adjustment refines portions of the “reciprocal tariffs” Trump enacted in April under his sweeping “Liberation Day” national emergency declaration — a signature second-term push aimed at leveling long-skewed trade deficits, the Daily Caller reported.
According to a White House fact sheet released alongside the directive, “certain qualifying agricultural products will no longer be subject to those tariffs, such as certain food not grown in the United States.” The affected items include “coffee and tea; tropical fruits and fruit juices; cocoa and spices; bananas, oranges, and tomatoes; beef; and additional fertilizers.”
Speaking just hours after the announcement, Trump emphasized that the shift was narrowly tailored. “We just did a little bit of a rollback on some foods like coffee,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
When pressed on whether tariffs had contributed to rising grocery costs, Trump was candid: “I say they may, in some cases,” he said, while also stressing that “to a large extent they’ve been borne by other countries.”
The recalibration arrives at a time when Americans are feeling the squeeze on essential goods, with roasted coffee up 18.9%, ground beef up 12.9%, and bananas up 6.9% compared to September 2025, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data.
This revised tariff order represents a notable fine-tuning of the president’s second-term economic blueprint, which has centered on bold, globally applied import duties designed to revive U.S. manufacturing and restore trade fairness. The shift also comes on the heels of Democratic gains in November’s off-year elections — victories concentrated almost entirely in deep-blue territory, raising questions about whether they reflect a national rebuke of Trump or simply predictable partisan turnout patterns, the Caller noted.
Still, Democrats quickly seized on the announcement to renew their long-running objections. “President Trump is finally admitting what we always knew: his tariffs are raising prices for the American people,” Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said Friday. He insisted that, after electoral setbacks, “the White House is trying to cast this tariff retreat as a ‘pivot to affordability.’”
Outside partisan politics, however, leading industry voices widely praised the administration’s move. The Food Industry Association issued a strong endorsement of the president’s decision to ease tariff pressure on critical food and agricultural imports.
“FMI is grateful and extremely pleased at President’s Trump’s actions to cut tariffs on a wide swathe of food and agriculture products,” the organization said on its website. “Today’s action should help consumers, whose morning cup of coffee will hopefully become more affordable, as well as U.S. manufacturers, which utilize many of these products in their supply chains and production lines.
“Many factors impact the price of food on grocery store shelves – including weather and crop yields, energy and transportation costs, packaging, and labor, among many others. Tariffs are an important factor in this complex mix of supply chain effects. President Trump’s proclamation to reduce tariffs on a substantial volume of food imports is a critical step ensuring continued adequate supply at prices consumers can afford,” the statement added.
“FMI wholeheartedly applauds President Trump’s efforts to provide swift tariff relief on certain food products to help ensure they remain as affordable as possible and accessible for American consumers,” the group continued.
“We fully support the administration’s economic objectives to enhance American competitiveness and affordability and stand ready to serve as a resource on how trade policies affect both consumer costs and the resilience of our nation’s food supply chain.”