Trump cuts tariffs as inflation fears mount

US President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including staples such 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.

Trump also told reporters that he would move forward with a $2,000 payment to lower- and middle-income Americans that would be funded by tariff revenues next year sometime. "The tariffs allow us to give a dividend if we want to do that. Now we're going to do a dividend and we're also reducing debt," he said.

The Trump administration announced framework trade deals on Thursday that, once finalised, will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, with US officials eyeing additional agreements before the year's end.

Friday's list includes products US consumers routinely purchase to feed their families at home, many of which have seen double-digit year-over-year price increases. It includes over 200 items ranging from oranges, acai berries and paprika to cocoa, chemicals used in food production, fertilisers and even communion wafers.

The White House, in a fact sheet on the order, said it came on the heels of "significant progress the president has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships."

It said Trump decided certain food items could be exempted since they were not grown or processed in the United States.