(MENAFN) The Trump administration announced Friday an executive order removing reciprocal tariffs on select agricultural goods in response to escalating consumer costs.

Coffee and tea; tropical fruits and fruit juices; cocoa and spices; bananas, oranges, and tomatoes; beef; and certain fertilizers now fall outside reciprocal tariff restrictions, according to a White House fact sheet.

The directive became effective Thursday. Previously collected duties will be reimbursed.

President Donald Trump determined modifications to reciprocal tariff coverage were warranted based on meaningful advances in reciprocal trade discussions, current domestic product demand, and existing domestic production capabilities, the White House stated.

These tariff exemptions aim to reduce consumer costs, predominantly affecting food items "not competitive in this country," like bananas, Trump told reporters on Friday.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index registered 3 percent year-over-year growth for September 2025, marginally higher than August's 2.9 percent. Beef and veal prices surged 14.7 percent annually in September, while coffee costs jumped 18.9 percent.

"President Trump is finally admitting what we always knew: his tariffs are raising prices for the American people," said U.S. Representative Don Beyer in a statement.

"After getting drubbed in recent elections because of voters' fury that Trump has broken his promises to fix inflation, the White House is trying to cast this tariff retreat as a 'pivot to affordability,'" said Beyer, who is pushing for legislation to rein in U.S. presidential powers on setting tariffs.

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