Overview
- An executive order retroactively exempts select agricultural imports—including coffee, cocoa, bananas, certain beef products, tea, spices and several fruits—and instructs Treasury and USTR to suspend collection and reimburse duties already paid.
- The tariff shift is tied to newly announced trade frameworks that set reduced reciprocal rates of roughly 10% for Argentina, Guatemala and El Salvador and 15% for Ecuador, with detailed terms still under negotiation.
- Brazil welcomed the step but said a separate punitive surcharge of about 40% on many Brazilian exports, including coffee, beef and tropical fruits, remains in force.
- U.S. farm groups reacted angrily, warning that expanded market access—especially anticipated increases in Argentina beef quotas—could undercut domestic producers despite the administration’s price rationale.
- Economists and trade officials expect only limited short‑term price relief, noting supply constraints and uncertain pass‑through, while legal and implementation questions over presidential tariff authority and retailer pricing persist.