RPT-BREAKINGVIEWS-Food-tariff rollbacks merely skim economic vibes

By Gabriel Rubin

WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - American shoppers are going bananas over prices, and President Donald Trump slipped on his own peel. In response to affordability anxiety sweeping the country, the White House has exempted some 200 food items, which account for an estimated $40 billion of imports, from tariffs imposed earlier this year. The problem is that even if grocery bills shrink, the same bad economic vibes Trump inherited will remain.

The cost of everything from bananas to beef soared to the top of the president's “affordability agenda" right after Republicans suffered unexpectedly bad election losses in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere. His remark last week that import duties “may in some cases” raise prices — a tacit acknowledgement that U.S. consumers, not exporters, are the ones paying — betrays a rickety policy enduring mounting blowback from voters, lawmakers and judges.

Sentiment is sinking again. It rebounded after the April “Liberation Day” tariffs didn’t spark the immediate economic crisis that many feared, but expectations have darkened, according to a closely watched University of Michigan survey.

Although Trump's handling of the economy had been one of his strongest issues, polling now signals greater gloom. He embarked on a road show on Monday at a McDonald's franchisee conference to spread the word about plans to ease household financial burdens. The White House is floating the idea of 50-year mortgages and possibly sending out $2,000 checks from the more than $200 billion in tariffs collected.

Vibes are more than mere abstractions, as former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris learned. Data now suggests that Democrats have better chances of scoring meaningful gains in Congress in November 2026. In Virginia, for example, the electorate gave the party its largest majority in the state assembly since 1989. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s cost-of-living pitch led the way.

With such issues clearly resonating far and wide, cutting tariffs is an obvious first step. As the saying goes, when in a hole, first stop digging. Congressional Republicans also can secretly hold out hope that the Supreme Court will cripple the legal basis for the policy. It might even embolden them to reclaim the power of the purse. Coffee and tropical fruit are only a light starter on the value menu, however. Trump and his party can scarcely afford to stop there.

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CONTEXT NEWS

U.S. President Donald Trump on November 14 rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including staples such as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing anxiety among American consumers about the high cost of groceries.