President Donald Trump is exempting a wide range of agricultural items from his reciprocal tariffs amid concerns about consumer prices, slashing levies on beef, coffee, chocolate, bananas, tomatoes, oranges and other products as affordability has become a growing political issue.

The White House announced Nov. 14 that Trump signed an executive order exempting certain products from the sweeping tariffs he imposed April 2 on many countries. The order is part of a major push by Trump and his top officials to address Americans' growing concerns about persistently high food prices.

“The Trump administration is committed to pursuing a nimble, nuanced, and multi-faceted strategy on trade and tariffs," said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

Other products that no longer will be subject to reciprocal tariffs, according to a White House fact sheet, are tea, tropical fruits and fruit juices, spices and additional fertilizers.

The move to drive down prices at the grocery store comes after Democrats won big victories in the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races, as well as the New York City mayor's race. Democrats made cost-of-living concerns their central focus in this month's elections.

It marks a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that his import duties are not fueling inflation even as economists say the tariffs are contributing to rising consumer costs.

Food prices at grocery stores rose by 0.6% from July to August, the fastest monthly rate change for groceries since October of 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall inflation hit 3% in September, up slightly from the month before.

Trump has upended the global trading system by imposing a 10% base tariffs on imports from every country, plus additional specific duties that vary from nation to nation.

The Nov. 14 executive order followed framework trade deals announced Nov. 13 that will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other items imported from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, once those deals are finalized. U.S. officials are eyeing additional deals for signing before year's end.

Trump has focused squarely on the issue of affordability in recent days, while insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted by former President Joe Biden, and not his own tariff policies.

"We are the ones that have done a great job on affordability, not the Democrats," Trump said Nov. 6 while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, adding: "But we just lost an election, they said, based on affordability."

Trump has floated a number of ideas since the election to help people financially, including a 50-year mortgage and a $2,000 tariff dividend check.

Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher, Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump exempts beef, coffee, bananas and other agricultural products from reciprocal tariffs

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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