The move comes as his administration faces mounting pressure over rising prices. While Trump previously downplayed concerns about the cost of living, he has shifted his focus to the issue following his Republican Party’s poor performance in last week’s elections.

The dozens of products included on the White House’s exemption list range from avocados and tomatoes to coconuts and mangoes. These goods, the Trump administration said on Friday, cannot be produced domestically in sufficient quantities.

Trump has long claimed that his tariffs — currently a baseline 10 percent on imports from all countries, with additional levies on many trading partners — would not lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers. He has also dismissed affordability as a “new word” and a “con job” by Democrats. He argues that the taxes are necessary to reduce the U.S. trade deficit — the gap between the value of goods it imports and those it exports. Trump has said the U.S. has been exploited by “cheaters” and “pillaged” by foreigners, adding that higher tariffs would encourage Americans to buy domestically produced goods instead.

But grocery costs — and especially the soaring price of beef — have become a political issue for Trump. Last week, he called for an investigation into the meatpacking industry, accusing companies of “illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.” He has sought to rally support for his tariffs by offering USD 2,000 tariff rebate checks to Americans, even as the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether he had the legal authority to issue them.

The latest exemptions, however, signal a reversal by the Trump administration, as the White House seeks to lower prices by rolling back tariffs on certain food staples. (BBC)