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| Vicky Li |
The White House announced framework trade agreements with some Latin American countries in an effort to ease surging prices for grocery staples like bananas and coffee. The framework deals with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador will remove levies for some goods from those countries, which currently face a uniform tariff rate between 10% and 15%, a senior administration official told reporters on a background call.
The senior administration official could not provide specifics about how much the move would reduce prices. But they did add that the White House expects "some positive effects for prices" on products like coffee, cocoa and bananas. As of September, coffee prices have spiked 18.9%, bananas have jumped 6.9% and beef prices have soared 14.7% in the past year, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.
Experts who spoke to ABC News indicated the lowering of tariffs could help slow or even reverse price increases for some goods such as bananas and coffee, since the U.S. does not produce those goods domestically. But, they cautioned, recent price increases for those goods owe in part to a global supply shortage, meaning tariff adjustments will have limited impact on prices.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Roll Tide up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.
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