US lowers tariffs amid anger over grocery prices

Tariffs on more than 200 food products were rolled back

- Reuters

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One on Friday.

(AP)

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

The new exemptions - which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday - mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation.

"They may in some cases" raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the US has "virtually no inflation."

Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic.