Trump Implements Major Rollback of Food Tariffs
President moved to lower duties on beef, coffee and dozens of other goods as cost-of-living concerns rise
Updated Nov. 14, 2025 The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—President Trump on Friday moved to lower tariffs on beef, coffee and dozens of agricultural and food goods, marking a significant rollback of his so-called reciprocal levies as he looks for ways to address Americans’ concerns about the cost of living.
Trump issued an executive order modifying the reciprocal tariffs he imposed on virtually every trading partner in August, exempting more than a hundred common food items including fruits, nuts and spices.
The move continues a shift away from Trump’s maximalist tariff policy. When the president announced his reciprocal tariffs this spring, his economic team insisted there would be no exemptions to the levies. They later relented, removing duties on certain items not produced in the U.S., or available in sufficient quantities from domestic suppliers to meet demand.
The newly exempted products on Friday include many products commonly produced in the U.S.—such as beef, which has risen to record prices in recent months. The tariff reductions are retroactive to 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to the order.
Trump’s order expands on tariff carve-outs that he announced on Thursday, when he said that many food products from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador would be exempted from levies after they agreed to trade frameworks with the U.S. The new carve-outs apply to imports of the affected food products from every nation—not just ones that have struck deals with Trump.
Trump’s decision comes after days of recriminations in the administration and among Republicans about how to respond to voter dissatisfaction over the cost of living, after a November election where Democrats largely swept GOP candidates aside with an “affordability” message.
Trump has also floated the idea of using tariff revenue to issue $2,000 rebate checks to Americans and launched an antitrust probe into meatpacking companies he accused of driving beef prices higher.
The move is part of a shift from the administration to water down some of its so-called reciprocal tariffs in the face of both price increases for consumers and legal uncertainty following a high-stakes Supreme Court hearing this month. In their place, the administration has expanded other tariffs on individual industries like steel, aluminum and automobiles based on more established national security law—Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Write to Gavin Bade at gavin.bade@wsj.com