On Wednesday, Eastern Time, US President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant hinted that the US government might take steps to reduce tariffs on food items such as coffee and bananas in order to mitigate the impact of Trump's tariffs on the prices of these imported foods.
As a result, Starbucks' stock price fell by 0.5% by the close of trading on Wednesday. The stock price rose 3.1%, while Dutch Bros' stock price rose 2.87%.
Will Trump lower coffee tariffs?
In an interview, Trump said, "We will lower some tariffs on coffee."
In an interview, Bessant added, "In the next few days, you will see some major announcements concerning products that we cannot produce in the United States, such as coffee, bananas, other fruits, and so on."
However, Bessant did not explicitly confirm that he was referring to tariff reductions, nor did he specify which countries' goods would be affected, nor did he mention whether this measure applies to different products from different countries.
However, another of Trump's economic advisors confirmed that the government is indeed discussing lowering tariffs on food products.
“One of the things that has been discussed in the last few days is considering adjusting tariffs on food products,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Washington on Wednesday.
Hassett also stated that Trump's tariff plan is "an ongoing process."
Is it aimed at alleviating concerns about the cost of living in the United States?
In an interview on Wednesday, Bessant reiterated his promise that by the first half of next year, "the cost of living for Americans will begin to improve." He stated that wage growth for American residents will outpace inflation in "the first and second quarters of next year."
As usual, Bessant again blamed the Biden administration for Americans’ inflation anxiety, saying, “We just inherited this mess of an excessively high cost of living.”
When asked about President Trump's idea of issuing $2,000 tariff "bonus" checks to individual U.S. citizens, Bessant said they had not yet made any decisions.
Bessant stated, "There are many options available. The president is indeed discussing a $2,000 tax rebate program that would be available to families with an annual income of less than $100,000."
These comments come as Trump tries to ease concerns about inflation and affordability—a situation many Republicans blamed for high prices earlier this month after losing state and local elections.
Trump recently made a rare admission that American consumers "have paid the price for his tariff policies"—a stance he had previously touted as meaning that the cost of tariffs was borne by foreign companies.
(Article source: CLS)
