Is Trump's tariff rates more political?

[Furball808]

Trump took back his words and slashed tariff rates on grocery staples like coffee, beef, bananas and more. This tariff policy is becoming more and more ridiculous and makes you think whether he is doing this more as a political statement rather than an economic one? I am thinking if his tariff rates can lead a country to an economic slow turnover especially if he continued tariff rates on grocery staples as mentioned.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/trump-cuts-tariffs-goods-prices.html

President Donald Trump on Friday exempted key agricultural imports like coffee, cocoa, bananas and certain beef products from his higher tariff rates.

The move comes as Trump faces political blowback for high prices at U.S. grocery stores. Some distributors of beef, coffee, chocolate and other common food items have raised prices as Trump’s tariffs took hold this year, adding to pressure on household budgets created by decades-high inflation in recent years.

[Taskford]

Trump took back his words and slashed tariff rates on grocery staples like coffee, beef, bananas and more. This tariff policy is becoming more and more ridiculous and makes you think whether he is doing this more as a political statement rather than an economic one? I am thinking if his tariff rates can lead a country to an economic slow turnover especially if he continued tariff rates on grocery staples as mentioned.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/trump-cuts-tariffs-goods-prices.html

President Donald Trump on Friday exempted key agricultural imports like coffee, cocoa, bananas and certain beef products from his higher tariff rates.

The move comes as Trump faces political blowback for high prices at U.S. grocery stores. Some distributors of beef, coffee, chocolate and other common food items have raised prices as Trump’s tariffs took hold this year, adding to pressure on household budgets created by decades-high inflation in recent years.

Yeah its more like that since if you look at the landscape of what Trump did its like he want to control the global trade and want country leader to come then negotiate with US.

They always want to take advantage on the situation because they know de-dollarization is slowly happening that's why US under Trump do an action to slow down this situation.

I'm curious to know what will happen to Trump after his term ends since there's legal challenges happened due to that harsh tariff he impose to lots of countries.

[palle11]

I think his idea is still about the interest for good live for the American people and people living there. If he is cutting down on agricultural products and increasing manufacturing materials for other countries, he wants the attraction to be on the American economy. If people are not able to get cheaper cars elsewhere, they are not able to get other capital intensive products elsewhere then they will look in the direction of America but unfortunately, things don't easily work that way. They are just calculations that are temporal and not sustainable.

[toryn388]

It's probably a mix of both. The original tariffs raised costs all the way through the supply chain, and grocery prices were already inflated. Removing tariffs on food items doesn't necessarily fix everything, but it does reduce some pressure. Politically, though, no administration wants to be blamed for high grocery bills.

[Fiatless]

I think his idea is still about the interest for good live for the American people and people living there. If he is cutting down on agricultural products and increasing manufacturing materials for other countries, he wants the attraction to be on the American economy. If people are not able to get cheaper cars elsewhere, they are not able to get other capital intensive products elsewhere then they will look in the direction of America but unfortunately, things don't easily work that way. They are just calculations that are temporal and not sustainable.

The tariff was ill-planned and the consequences were felt by the citizens. Trump is reconsidering the tariff because of Republicans' big losses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Virginia midterm elections. I guess Republicans have begun to pressure him to change his policies because it might affect them in future elections.

Expect more tariff exemptions because the US is under an affordability crisis.  

[imamusma]

Trump took back his words and slashed tariff rates on grocery staples like coffee, beef, bananas and more. This tariff policy is becoming more and more ridiculous and makes you think whether he is doing this more as a political statement rather than an economic one? I am thinking if his tariff rates can lead a country to an economic slow turnover especially if he continued tariff rates on grocery staples as mentioned.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/trump-cuts-tariffs-goods-prices.html

President Donald Trump on Friday exempted key agricultural imports like coffee, cocoa, bananas and certain beef products from his higher tariff rates.

The move comes as Trump faces political blowback for high prices at U.S. grocery stores. Some distributors of beef, coffee, chocolate and other common food items have raised prices as Trump’s tariffs took hold this year, adding to pressure on household budgets created by decades-high inflation in recent years.

We can never truly know what President Trump really wants. At a glance, I see that Trump likes to create sensations by changing policies according to his political tastes. Trump appears to want to be seen as a hero by all Americans, one day he raises tariffs, and the next day he cuts them. There are always political motives mixed with economic considerations behind every decision he makes, but it is clear that his reason for reducing tariffs on several household staples is the growing criticism directed at him.

[YOSHIE]

Is Trump's tariff rates more political?

Talking about Trump's tariff policy in Padang from a political perspective is one of the strongest tricks because behind Trump's tariff policy he has succeeded in realizing his political speech, his promise is directed to a positive realm, However, some economists view Trump's tariff policy as likely to have a serious impact on the global economy.

One of the negative impacts of tariff policy is price increases and inflation, causing job losses and also affecting the supply chain for industry. For this reason, positive political motivation has a negative impact, as I said above, trade and economic growth globally is bad and has a negative impact on various sectors.