TACO! Trump Reportedly Preparing Big Tariff Reductions as Part of Affordability Push
X/@RealDonaldTrump
President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a major rollback of his trade policy.
According to The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman and Tyler Pager, his administration “is preparing broad exemptions to certain tariffs in an effort to ease elevated food prices that have provoked anxiety for American consumers, according to three people briefed on the actions.”
They continued:
The change would apply to certain reciprocal tariffs the president announced in April, including on products coming from countries that have not struck trade deals with the administration, the people said, discussing a pending announcement on the condition of anonymity.
The exemptions are expected to include beef and citrus products, although the people cautioned that President Trump had not made a final decision. The issue of increasing beef imports has been a source of contention among U.S. ranchers, who say it runs counter to Mr. Trump’s philosophy of boosting domestic production.
If the proposal goes forward, it would be the latest rollback of one of the president’s key economic policies over growing concerns about affordability, even as Mr. Trump has insisted — wrongly — that prices are down. Last week, Democrats won elections around the country in large part by harnessing worries about the cost of living.
The plan likely to take effect goes beyond the exemptions that Mr. Trump proposed in September in an executive order, which would have been confined to products that are not primarily made or grown in the United States, and which are purchased from countries with which the Trump administration has struck trade deals.
The prospective change in course comes a little over a week after Democrats romped through last Tuesday’s off-year elections in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City, and elsewhere in large part thanks to continued economic anxiety.
Trump is also reportedly planning to travel the country in an effort to tout his economic agenda.
