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Diving overview:
- President Donald Trump on Friday issued an executive order exempting hundreds of agricultural products from reciprocal tariffs, noting that various trade agreements justify the exclusion.
- Coffee, tea, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, beef, tropical fruits, fruit juices, some fertilizers used for religious purposes, and food products are among the 237 classifications and 11 categories of agricultural products currently exempt from the administration’s reciprocal tariffs, according to the Customs Notice and Information Sheet.
- The new tariff exemption applies retroactively to goods brought into the United States for consumption (or goods removed from warehouses for consumption) as of November 13, making them eligible for reciprocal tariff exemption treatment. Refunds will be made according to the order and following normal customs clearance procedures.
Dive Insights:
Since April, many agricultural products have been subject to global tariffs of at least 10% (or more in some countries) as part of the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff policy. But over the past several months, the administration has periodically adjusted the list of products subject to those tariffs.
The White House said the agricultural exemptions were a result of the administration’s work on a variety of trade deals, including with countries that produce agricultural products not commonly grown in the United States.
In the past few months, the United States has formalized trade agreements with Cambodia and Malaysia, reached “out-of-the-box” deals or announced progress on other deals with El Salvador, Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Thailand, Vietnam, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to the fact sheet.
For example, in 2024, Guatemala was the largest exporter of fresh and dried bananas to the United States and the second largest exporter of tropical fruits. Currently, both products are exempt from reciprocal tariffs, according to data compiled by Supply Chain Dive. Similarly, in 2024, Thailand and Vietnam were the top two exporters of single fruit juices, including coconut water, to the United States.
Food industry trade associations have frequently asked the Trump administration to exclude certain products from tariffs due to sourcing restrictions. For example, last September, the Consumer Brands Association asked the administration to update tariff exclusions to include tin steel.
“The consumer goods industry, the nation’s largest manufacturing sector by workforce, sources 90% of its ingredients and inputs from U.S. farmers and suppliers, yet certain ingredients and agricultural products are not available domestically due to climatic conditions, geography and other factors,” the Consumer Brands Association said in a statement at the time.
In August, the Food Industry Institute (FMI), which represents businesses including grocery store operators and food wholesalers, said it planned to work with federal officials to create an “exemption process that would exclude (imported) foods whose tariffs would not benefit U.S. industries,” such as cocoa, cinnamon and bananas.
On Friday, the trade group issued a statement praising the Trump administration’s recent actions.
“Many factors affect the price of food on grocery store shelves, including weather and crop yields, energy and transportation costs, packaging and labor costs. Tariffs are a critical component of this complex mix of supply chain effects. President Trump’s declaration that he will reduce tariffs on significant quantities of food imports is an important step to ensure continued adequate supply at prices consumers can afford,” Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, said in a statement.
