Trump signs order to lower tariffs on beef, coffee, other goods

President Donald Trump signed an order Friday to lower US tariffs on agriculture imports such as beef, bananas, coffee and tomatoes, as his government comes under pressure from voters grappling with the escalating cost of living.

These products are now exempted from his "reciprocal" tariffs, imposed this year to address behavior deemed unfair, after the administration considered issues like the US capacity -- or lack thereof -- to produce certain goods.

But other duties in place will continue to apply.

The new tariff exemptions are backdated to take effect on November 13, according to the order published by the White House.

The Trump administration has been stepping up efforts to convince Americans of the economy's strength as affordability concerns emerged as a key issue in this month's elections for New York City mayor, and the governors of New Jersey and Virginia.

Democrats swept all three of those races, with an intense focus on cost of living issues.

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The list of tariff exemptions published Friday also covers other produce such as avocados, coconuts and pineapples.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on US trading partners, sparking warnings from economists that these could fuel inflation and weigh on growth.

While there has not been a sharp uptick in overall consumer inflation, policymakers have noted that tariffs have pushed up prices of certain goods.

They expect the effect of higher levies to continue filtering through the world's biggest economy.

Beef prices have also been rising this year in part due to a tighter supply of cattle.

The Trump administration has acknowledged affordability worries that Americans are facing, with Trump's top economic advisor nodding to a loss of purchasing power in recent years.

"That's something that we're going to fix, and we're going to fix it right away," Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said this week.

Source: AFP