Under pressure to reduce the cost of living for Americans, President Donald Trump on Friday (14th) announced a 10% reduction in US tariffs on agricultural imports. The list includes about 200 items exported by Brazil, including beef, bananas, coffee, and tomatoes.
The presidential decree exempts some agricultural products from the “reciprocal” tariffs that will be imposed in April. The decision was made after analyzing factors such as the country’s production capacity. The list released by the White House includes products that the United States does not grow or produces in very small quantities due to domestic demand. Coffee, tea, avocado, tomato, mango, pineapple, banana, coconut, beef, etc. are exempt from the 10% surcharge.
On April 2nd, President Trump’s executive order made major changes to U.S. trade policy, imposing tariffs of at least 10%. The president justified the move by arguing that the trade deficit posed an “extraordinary and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States,” according to a White House statement.
In addition to this minimum price, country- and product-specific additional charges were applied. In the case of Brazil, tariffs reached 50%.
The US Treasury has begun collecting large sums of money from additional tariffs. At the same time, tariffs caused inflation, squeezed prices in the domestic market, and caused consumer dissatisfaction. For example, coffee prices rose 20% in August and September.
As a result, after the first review on September 5, President Trump was forced to lower tariffs again.
negotiations with brazil
The United States had already announced tariff agreements on Thursday (13th) to realign trade policies with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Latin American countries are important producers of raw materials such as coffee, beef, and fruit.
Also on Thursday, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss bilateral trade relations and a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports. Mr. Vieira reported that the two countries are making progress toward an interim agreement. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.
The 10% reduction announced on Friday will leave the surcharge on some Brazilian products at 40%. After signing the executive order, President Trump irritated Brazilian negotiators by saying he didn’t think new cuts were necessary. Since Lula’s face-to-face meeting with Trump in Malaysia in October, Brazil, the world’s leading coffee and beef producer, has been trying to negotiate even deeper tariff cuts.
Rising cost of living worries Americans
Polls cite the cost of living as one of Americans’ main concerns.
Following Friday’s ruling, National Coffee Association President Bill Murray said in a statement that the decision to lower the tariffs will “relieve cost-of-living pressures on the two-thirds of American adults who consume coffee every day.”
The Trump Administration recognizes the cost of living concerns facing Americans. This dissatisfaction contributed to Republican defeats in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia and in New York’s mayoral elections.
In addition to the tariff cuts, President Trump announced an investigation into meat processing practices a week ago. The president accused these companies of colluding to fix prices. Beef increased by almost 15% in September, according to the latest official data available.
In a recent report, the Farm Bureau, the main U.S. agricultural organization, attributed the record prices to a significant decline in cattle numbers in recent years (lowest in 74 years) and consistently high demand.
(RFI by AFP)
About The Author
