Trump plans move to ease prices on coffee and bananas: Treasury Secretary Bessent
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that “the American people are going to start feeling better” about affordability by next year.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Top Trump officials indicated the administration would soon reduce tariffs on coffee, bananas and other foods, after voter anger over the cost of living saw Republicans defeated in state and local elections.
“You’re going to see some substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States, coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits, things like that,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Nov 12 on Fox News.
Mr Bessent did not specify whether he was referring to tariff reductions, identify which countries’ goods would be affected or say whether the move would apply to categories of products across nations, but another US President Donald Trump’s economic adviser confirmed that the administration is discussing cutting levies on food items.
“One of the things that people have been talking about, just the last few days, is, you know, thinking about changing tariffs for foodstuffs,” National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said on Nov 12 in an interview with Bloomberg host and Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman David Rubenstein at an Economic Club of Washington event.
Mr Hassett called Mr Trump’s tariff plans “an ongoing process.”
The White House, the Office of the US Trade Representative and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Bessent also reiterated his assurance that “the American people are going to start feeling better” about affordability by the first half of next year.
Wage gains are going to accelerate past the pace of inflation “in the first quarter, second quarter, next year”, he said.
The secretary again blamed inflation angst on the Biden administration, saying that “we inherited this affordability mess”.
Asked about Mr Trump’s idea of sending US$2,000 (S$2,600) tariff dividend cheques to individual Americans, Mr Bessent said that no decisions have been made.
“There are a lot of options here,” Mr Bessent said. “The president is talking about a US$2,000 rebate that would be for families making less than, say, US$100,000.”
Mr Bessent also highlighted that “substantial” tax refunds would be distributed in 2026, when withholding rates will also be changed. This will produce “natural, real wage growth”, he said.
Mr Trump and his aides have been playing up their economic policies in recent days after last week’s election losses
