"Substantial announcements" were planned in coming days to lower the prices of products like coffee, bananas and other items not grown in the US, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
He gave no details, but said the measures would bring down prices "very quickly," adding that people would start feeling better about the economy in the first half of 2026.
Coffee prices fell sharply on Wednesday amid signs that the US will cut selected import tariffs, potentially easing supply tightness in the world's top consuming country.
After last week's election defeats, Trump once again floated the prospect of giving households rebate checks funded by tariffs, and raised the prospect of a 50-year mortgage to encourage more people to buy homes.
Bessent, asked about those ideas, said a US$2,000 rebate check proposed by Trump would benefit those earning less than US$100,000 per year, but no decisions had been made. He did not address the 50-year mortgage idea, which has sparked criticism from conservative allies, business leaders and lawmakers.
LOWERING TARIFFS
Trump, in an interview aired on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" show on Tuesday, said the US would lower some tariffs on coffee imports, repeating comments he first made in late October during his trip to Asia.
Coffee roasters in the US have been plowing through their stockpiles as they await the outcome of ongoing US-Brazil trade negotiations. Brazilian coffee, which accounts for a third of the beans consumed in the US, has been priced out of that market by the 50 percent import tariffs that Trump imposed in August.
Asked about Trump's comments about lowering tariffs on coffee producers Vietnam and Brazil, Bessent said, "It's tough to do a lot of specific things, but I can tell you ... you're going to see some specific announcements in coming days in terms of things we don't grow here in the United States, coffee, coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits, things like that."
In September, US consumers paid nearly 19 percent more than a year earlier for roasted coffee and nearly 22 percent more for instant coffee, according to that month's CPI report. Banana prices were up nearly 7 percent year over year compared with essentially no change for fresh fruit more widely.
The US grows bananas in Hawaii and Florida, but commercial production is limited and most bananas are imported from countries where labor is cheaper and land costs are lower.
Bessent said other measures already taken by the Trump administration, including reducing taxes on overtime and tips, would kick in early next year, as well as moves to boost domestic manufacturing through foreign investment.
"Real wages are going to increase," Bessent said. "I would expect in the first quarter, second quarter of next year .... Americans are going to start feeling better."
Many households will see large tax refunds next year given changes in tax law, allowing deductions for car loans and ending taxes on Social Security benefits for some seniors. Parents of children born after December 31, 2024 and before January 1, 2029 could also receive a US$1,000 initial deposit if they opened a Trump account, Bessent said.
Reuters
