Trump lowers tariffs on coffee, beef and fruits, as Americans’ concerns about affordability grow

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that retroactively lowers tariffs on beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, among other agricultural imports, backdated to Thursday.

The order Trump signed excludes the goods from “reciprocal” tariff rates, which start at 10% and go as high as 50%. However, the order doesn’t exempt the goods entirely from tariffs.

For instance, tomatoes from Mexico, a major supplier to the United States, will continue to be tariffed at 17%. That rate took effect in July after a nearly three-decade-old trade agreement expired. Tomato prices increased almost immediately after those tariffs were put in place.

Many of the commodities that will no longer face “reciprocal” tariffs have seen some of the biggest price increases since Trump took office, in part because of tariffs he imposed and a lack of sufficient domestic supply.

For instance, Brazil, the top supplier of coffee to the US, has faced tariffs of 50% since August. Consumers paid nearly 20% more for coffee in September compared to the prior year, according to Consumer Price Index data.

The move comes after voters expressed frustrations with the state of the economy in exit polls earlier this month, voting for Democrats in off-year elections in several states.

In previewing Friday’s executive order, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week the moves targeted goods “we don’t grow here in the United States,” referring to coffee and bananas. (While coffee is grown in some parts of the country, it’s mostly imported.)

Earlier on Friday the Trump administration and the Swiss government announced a new trade framework that calls for lowering tariffs on goods from Switzerland to 15% from 39%, a rate that was among the highest across all countries the US trades with.

This story has been updated with additional context and developments.

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