President Donald Trump has eliminated tariffs on a wide swath of food imports, raising expectations he will reverse more trade policies in a bid to combat high prices.
The response from the White House: Don’t count on it.
According to one White House official, granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy, the administration’s new tariff cuts are entirely consistent with the president’s long-term trade agenda and do not signal a comprehensive move away from tariffs, particularly as a tool to rebuild manufacturing.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett echoed that sentiment in an interview on CNBC on Monday. “This is nothing new,” Hassett said, calling the president’s executive order halting tariffs on foreign ag products “a blanket movement so that we weren’t going through each deal and picking this and that.”
