President Trump has signed an order reducing tariffs on goods, including beef, tomatoes, coffee, and bananas, to lower costs on some everyday goods as consumers grapple with price struggles.
The push to reduce food prices comes after electoral wins for Democrats across a number of key state and local races where candidates stressed affordability concerns. Trump has also in recent weeks floated the possibility of a tariff “dividend” for many Americans in the form of a $2,000 check. Trump said he was eyeing the rebate checks “probably in the middle of next year, a little bit later than that,” though officials have said Congress would need to approve them.
Rebate checks could detract from Trump administration pledges to use much of revenue from tariffs toward reducing US deficits. The Congressional Budget Office revised its estimate of tariffs’ impact on that front, saying it would shrink deficits by $3 trillion by 2035 instead of the $4 trillion it had projected in August.
Trump recently acknowledged that US consumers are “paying something” for his tariffs, the bulk of which face a looming verdict from the Supreme Court.
In a closely watched case, a majority of the justices — both the court’s three liberal-leaning justices, as well as three more conservative ones — offered skeptical questions regarding the president’s authority to impose his most sweeping duties. If the Supreme Court does not side with Trump, it’s widely expected that the administration will seek out alternative methods to carry out the US trade agenda.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
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The US and Switzerland have agreed to a deal to lower tariffs on Swiss imports to 15%, from a 39% level that had shocked the country over the summer. Switzerland will invest $200 billion in the US, the White House said.
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Brazil said it hopes to reach a preliminary trade deal with the US this month, as relations between the two sides improve.
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The US and China reached a trade truce that will see China suspend additional export controls on rare earth metals and end investigations into US chip companies. As part of the deal, the US will pause some of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” on China for another year. (Read more: What are rare earth minerals, and why are they important?)
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Trump said that “at some point,” he would reduce the tariff rate on Indian goods, and that the US was getting “close” to a trade deal with New Delhi.
LIVE 68 updates
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Nvidia says it’s ‘disappointed’ as China business falls flat amid trade war
As the dust settles on Nvidia’s (NVDA) solid earnings beat and guidance raise, my colleague Laura Bratton notes that China remains a sore spot for the AI chipmaker.
The US effectively banned Nvidia from selling its H20 chips to China in April, only lifted in August when President Trump agreed to grant export licenses for a share of those revenues. By then, Beijing had forbidden its own tech firms from buying the chips.
Laura reports:
Trump tariffs to reduce US deficits by $1 trillion less than previous estimate: CBO
Reuters reports:
- Wed, November 19, 2025 at 3:30 PM UTC Implementation of lower US tariffs on Switzerland targeted in coming days
Reuters reports:
- Wed, November 19, 2025 at 2:39 PM UTC US trade deficit narrows sharply in August as imports fall
A report on the US trade deficit, which was delayed by the government shutdown, was released today, showing that the trade deficit narrowed more than expected as imports declined.
The report, originally scheduled for release on Oct. 7, implied that trade could still weigh on economic growth in the third quarter.
Reuters reports:
Wed, November 19, 2025 at 9:27 AM UTC Raimondo says Trump’s tariffs hard to remove for next president
Bloomberg News reports:
President Trump met with operators, suppliers, and owners of McDonald’s (MCD) fast food franchises and told them that his administration is making progress in combating inflation.
Yahoo Finance’s Washington correspondent Ben Werschkul delves into Trump’s affordability push and how the president is trying to counteract the growing unease among Americans due to rising prices.
China’s exports of rare-earth materials edged lower in October compared to the previous month, as Beijing and Washington attempt to finalize the details of supply arrangements under the trade truce agreed upon between President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping.
Bloomberg News reports:
China has resumed its purchase of US soybeans, a sign that a temporary pause has ended and may show Beijing’s commitment to the trade truce agreed in October.
Fresh data from the US Department of Agriculture released Friday had cast some doubts over whether China would actually buy millions of American soybeans. However, State-owned agriculture trader Cofco Group booked nearly 20 cargoes of the American oilseed on Monday for delivery in December and January, according to people familiar.
Bloomberg News reports:
- Tue, November 18, 2025 at 5:55 AM UTC New Zealand would like to see US tariffs removed rather than simply reduced
New Zealand officials said Sunday the country welcomes the announcement from President Donald Trump that the US will roll back some of its “Liberation Day” tariffs on agricultural products, including beef and kiwi fruit. The products represent around 25% of New Zealand’s exports to the US, Reuters reported, and are worth roughly NZ$2.21 billion ($1.25 billion) annually.
According to a study by risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, some of the bigger emerging economies, such as China, Brazil, and India, should be able to cope with tariffs without any real issues.
The study examined the resilience levels of 20 of the largest emerging markets, using debt levels and export revenue to assess their capacity to manage trade volatility.
Reuters reports:
Fresh data from the US Agriculture Department has cast doubts over whether China will, in fact, purchase millions of bushels of US soybeans like the Trump administration said last month after a high-stakes meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
AP reports:
- Mon, November 17, 2025 at 1:49 PM UTC EU to warn Lutnick against expanding scope of US steel tariffs
Bloomberg reports on some emerging friction in the EU-US trade agreement:
Japan’s economic growth slowed to a 1.8% annual contraction in July to September due to President Trump’s tariffs, which hit exports and caused private residential investments to plunge.
AP reports:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that President Trump’s proposal to send $2,000 “dividend” payments from tariffs to US citizens would need support from Congress.
“We will see,” Bessent said Sunday on Fox News. “We need legislation for that.”
Trump, who has previously boasted of the billions being raised from tariff revenue, told reporters on Friday that the checks will go out sometime next year to “everybody but the rich.”
The latest comments from Trump and Bessent come as public frustration rises over the increasing prices of everyday food items, such as beef, bananas, and coffee. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to reduce tariffs on goods including beef, tomatoes, coffee, and bananas.
Bloomberg News reports:
- Sun, November 16, 2025 at 9:43 PM UTC Brazilian VP says US tariffs on its coffee, beef, and other goods still too high
Vice President Geraldo Alckmin of Brazil said Saturday that despite President Trump’s reversal of some of his “Liberation Day” tariffs, the prices on goods the country exports to the US, including coffee and beef, remain subject to a 40% levy, the Associated Press reports.
Japanese automaker Toyota (TM) announced on Thursday a $10 billion investment in the US over the next five years, just a few weeks after President Trump visited Japan.
The FT reports:
- Sun, November 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM UTC Trump tariff rollback on food items a positive move for Indian agriculture
Farmers in India are hoping the relaxation of some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs will revive lost demand for its exports, Reuters reports.
On Friday, Trump rolled back tariffs on some 200 food items including beef and coffee, in an effort to ease rising grocery bills for US consumers.
Just a few weeks after the US and China agreed to a one-year trade truce, which includes the lifting of export restrictions on rare earths by Beijing, the two sides have apparently not yet begun to negotiate the finer details surrounding the deal and come to an understanding on exactly how Beijing will liberalize sales of rare earths.
Bloomberg News reports:
- Sat, November 15, 2025 at 5:30 PM UTC Swiss watchmakers breathing a sigh of relief at US tariff deal
Like other industries in the small European nation of Switzerland, watchmakers are celebrating the announcement that the country has reached an agreement with the US to reduce tariffs on Swiss goods, from 39% to 15%, Bloomberg reports: