The Trump administration on Thursday said import taxes on coffee and bananas will be lowered as part of trade deals with four Latin American countries.
The agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador come as US President Donald Trump faces scrutiny over his handling of the economy and concerns about affordability.
As part of an initial framework, a reciprocal tariff of 10% will stay on goods from Guatemala, Argentina and El Salvador, as will a 15% tax on imports from Ecuador into the US. But the deals will exempt products that cannot be produced in the US “in sufficient quantities,” such as coffee.
The US-Argentina deal also addresses beef producers’ access to foreign markets.
Trump previously downplayed concerns about the cost of living, insisting the outlook had improved during his nine months in office. He said affordability was a “new word”, and a “con job” by Democrats.
But he has focused on the issue with some urgency since his Republican Party’s poor performance in last week’s off-year elections across a handful of states.
This week, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both vowed to lower coffee prices, which have jumped about 20% in the US this year. Bessent also signalled relief on tariffs on bananas and other fruits.
Senior administration officials on Thursday singled out coffee, cocoa and bananas as examples of imports from the four Latin American countries that are poised to escape tariffs.
Guatemala and Ecuador are the biggest exporters of bananas to the US.
While the US does import coffee from Central American countries, including Guatemala, Brazil is the top coffee exporter to the US, according to data from the Agriculture Department, and is not covered by the deal.
Severe weather is also contributing to high prices for coffee and cacao, senior administration officials said. But they added that prices will hopefully fall to some extent when tariffs ease, if retailers and wholesalers pass along savings to consumers.
Separately, in a joint statement announcing a framework deal with Argentina, the White House focused on expanding access to beef markets overseas.
The two countries “have committed to improved, reciprocal, bilateral market access conditions for trade in beef”, according to the statement.
The soaring price of beef has become a political issue for Trump. Last week, he asked the Justice Department to investigate meat-packing companies over their possible role in driving up beef prices, after other recent proposals to lower prices sparked backlash among ranchers.
The four agreements with Latin American trading partners are expected to be signed within the next two weeks, senior administration officials said.
The deals stem from Trump’s announcement in April of sweeping new tariffs on dozens of countries. Most were put on hold amid the resulting global financial panic.
Nations considered the “worst offenders” would face higher rates, as payback for what the Trump administration has called unfair trade policies. New tariff rates for dozens of countries were subsequently introduced in August, after delays to allow for trade talks.
The Trump administration has, in recent weeks, reached trade agreements with the European Union, South Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.
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Source: myjoyonline.com
