Major Tariff Rollbacks

The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Implements Major Rollback of Food Tariffs

President Trump on Friday moved to lower tariffs on beef, coffee and dozens of agricultural and food goods, marking a significant rollback of his so-called reciprocal levies as he looks for ways to address Americans’ concerns about the cost of living.

Trump issued an executive order modifying the reciprocal tariffs he imposed on virtually every trading partner in August, exempting more than a hundred common food items including fruits, nuts and spices.

The move continues a shift away from Trump’s maximalist tariff policy. When the president announced his reciprocal tariffs this spring, his economic team insisted there would be no exemptions to the levies. They later relented, removing duties on certain items not produced in the U.S., or available in sufficient quantities from domestic suppliers to meet demand.

The newly exempted products on Friday, however, include many products commonly produced in the U.S.—such as beef, which has risen to record prices in recent months. The tariff reductions are retroactive to 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, according to the order.

The move is part of a shift from the administration to water down some of its so-called reciprocal tariffs in the face of both price increases for consumers and legal uncertainty following a high-stakes Supreme Court hearing this month. In their place, the administration has expanded other tariffs on individual industries like steel, aluminum and automobiles based on more established national security law—Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Trump’s decision comes after days of recriminations in the administration and among Republicans about how to respond to voter dissatisfaction over the cost of living, after a November election where Democrats largely swept GOP candidates aside with an “affordability” message.

Best Comments of the Day

• “It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but it’s important to recognize that the pain that American working families and businesses feel from tariffs goes way beyond coffee and bananas,” said Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.
• “By admitting that lowering tariffs will lower prices for U.S. consumers, the Trump administration is acknowledging what economists have pointed out all along: tariffs raise prices,” said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, a think tank critical of tariffs.

Worst Action of the Day

In their place, the administration has expanded other tariffs on individual industries like steel, aluminum and automobiles based on more established national security law—Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Steel and aluminum tariffs do far more damage than food tariffs. The latter mostly just raise prices. Steel and aluminum tariffs cost jobs and destroy small businesses unable to escape the tariffs.

Best Headline of the Day

I wish I thought of this one. The WSJ commented Yes, We Want No Banana Tariffs

President Trump insists his border taxes aren’t raising prices, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent more or less conceded otherwise on Wednesday when he floated exemptions for coffee and bananas. Is this the beginning of political wisdom?

Perhaps it’s sinking in at the White House that Americans aren’t happy about the economy and high prices. The Administration in recent days has been stressing moves to improve “affordability.” Many of the Administration’s actions such as investigating meat packers are counterproductive. But tariff relief would be welcome.

Mr. Bessent teased tariff exemptions in a Fox News interview this week: “You’re going to see some substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States, coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits, things like that.” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett echoed Mr. Bessent.

Musical Tribute

Yes! We want no steel tariffs. We want no steel tariffs today. (Or aluminum or clothes))

Getting rid of banana tariffs is a good thing. But seriously, what is that going to mean in practice?

Spotlight Aluminum

May 31, 2025: Trump Will Double Steel and Aluminum Tariffs to 50 Percent

Tariff madness continues.

September 6, 2025: Trump’s Aluminum Tariffs Seriously Backfire Already

Tariffs did not and will not bring production back to the US.

September 18, 2025: Trump’s Aluminum Tariffs Kill Jobs and Put America Last

Tariffs are costly for companies that use the metal to make things, including recyclers.

Trump’s Bizarre Rant #1

Truth Social Rant #1: The “Pay Back” Numbers being quoted by the Radical Left Lunatics, who would love to see us lose on Tariffs because of how bad it would be for our Country, are much higher than those being stated by our Fake Opposition — Opposition mainly from Foreign Countries that would do anything to be allowed to charge us Tariffs without retribution. The actual Number we would have to pay back in Tariff Revenue and Investments would be in excess of $2 Trillion Dollars, and that, in itself, would be a National Security catastrophe. Those opposed to us in the United States Supreme Court are giving low Numbers so that the Court will think it is easy to get out of this terrible situation that these Anarchists and Thugs have put us into!

Trump’s Bizarre Rant #2

Truth Social Rant #2: The U.S. Supreme Court was given the wrong numbers. The “unwind” in the event of a negative decision on Tariffs, would be, including investments made, to be made, and return of funds, in excess of 3 Trillion Dollars. It would not be possible to ever make up for that kind of a “drubbing.” That would truly become an insurmountable National Security Event, and devastating to the future of our Country – Possibly non-sustainable!

Is it $2 trillion or $3 trillion? This brings to mind a whole slew of questions starting with “If this is not a major issues question and thus grounds for tossing the tariffs, then what the hell is?”

Please recall that the Supreme court tossed Biden’s student loan forgiveness executive order on the major question doctrine.

The major questions doctrine is a legal principle that requires federal administrative agencies to point to clear congressional authorization before making rules with major economic or political significance.

Trump is undermining his own case with stupid, uncontrolled rants.

Next, how the hell do we arrive at $2 trillion in the first place?

The US collected nearly $195 billion in tariff revenue in fiscal year 2025. I suppose we can arrive at $2 trillion if we are talking about 10 years.

But only a fraction of that is under review by the Supreme Court. Only the IEEPA tariffs are under review.

Mish: How much IEEPA specific tariff revenue was collected so far in 2025?

Grok: As of November 15, 2025, approximately $90 billion in tariff revenue has been collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for the year so far. This figure aligns with estimates from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and analyses by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), covering collections from February (when initial IEEPA tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada took effect) through October 2025. It represents the portion of total FY 2025 customs duties ($195 billion, a 150% increase from FY 2024) attributed to IEEPA measures, such as 10% universal tariffs, country-specific reciprocal tariffs (10-125%), and fentanyl-related tariffs (up to 20%).

OK. Let’s call that $90 billion for 10 years of $900 billion. That’s still a major issues question exceeding the court strikedown of student loans.

So we are at $90 billion and falling thanks to all the TACOs with Friday offering a big one.

Meanwhile, as noted by the WSJ, Trump is raising tariffs on steel and aluminum that are far more destructive.

Trump Labels Those Against Tariffs as “Fools”, Proposes $2,000 to Everyone

On November 9, 2025, I noted Trump Labels Those Against Tariffs as “Fools”, Proposes $2,000 to Everyone

Trump proposes another massive wealth redistribution scheme.

Four Trump Tariff Positions

1. Use Tariffs to eliminate the deficit and pay down debt
2. Use tariffs to bring production back to the US
3. Use tariffs as a redistribution scheme to give everyone $2,000
4. Use tariffs to pay for the damage Trump he caused to farmers

$2,000 Redistribution Math

• Total Population: 343 Million – Cost $686 Billion
• Noninstitutional Population Age 16+ of the US: 274 million – Cost $548 Billion
• Noninstitutional Population Subset: 200 Million – Cost $400 Billion

Five Questions

1. Who pays the tariffs?
2. Since when do Republicans cheer massive money redistribution schemes?
3. How does one eliminate the deficit and pay down debt when the deficit is much larger than tariffs can bring in?
4. How can tariffs simultaneously bring back production and collect money?
5. How can you redistribute $400 billion minimum, plus farm bailouts, and shrink the deficit?

Five Answers

1. US consumers and businesses
2. Since Trump
3. You don’t
4. You don’t
5. You don’t

What’s Trump Doing?

This is speculation on my part, but I think he is futilely trying to drum up support for tariffs when the Supreme Court rules against him on reciprocal tariffs.

Trump wants to blame the court for their ruling if and when it goes against him. (Note: I have a post coming up on the Court decision regarding the odds, and the vote count by individual justices).

Of course, never discount the possibility that there is no rationale for Trump’s madness, so there’s just madness. He says or does things on whims without thinking.

Plenty of Anger

Trump is angry at the Supreme Court, he is angry at inflation, he is angry about housing, and he is angry at people for not believing there is no inflation.

He is angry at everyone but the one person he should be angry with, himself.

Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget

On March 12, I commented Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget

Lutnick: “We’re going to make the External Revenue Service replace the Internal Revenue Service.”

I ran the math on that ludicrous idea. Team Trump only needs to bring in $7 trillion in tariffs on $3.3 trillion in total imports.

On Friday we saw the biggest TACO yet as Trump tries to undo the inflation damage he caused.

Please note Trump screwed farmers when China retaliated and he wants to pay them back.

And his $2,000 rebate deal is to mollify consumers for the price hikes he caused them.

But there is no way to pay back all of the small businesses Trump put out of business with his hugely damaging steel and aluminum tariffs, and tariffs on parts used by those businesses.

I am laughing at banana stupidity, now reversed, and also at the stupidity of Trump’s rants. But his other tariffs are no laughing matter.

Oh. There’s one more thing. “Trade wars are good and easy to win.”

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