1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to express my deep concern about the inadequacy of President Trump's recent decision to remove tariffs on certain food items. While this action may appear to address cost-of-living issues, it falls woefully short of providing meaningful relief to American families struggling with rising food prices. The removal of tariffs on items like bananas and coffee, products with little to no domestic production, demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the complex factors driving food inflation. According to projections from the Budget Lab at Yale, Trump's tariffs were expected to increase food prices by 1.9% in the short term. However, simply rolling back these tariffs on a limited selection of goods will not solve the broader affordability crisis we face. It's crucial to recognize that imports typically account for less than 20% of American food and beverage purchases. This means the impact of these tariff removals on overall grocery budgets will be modest at best. Furthermore, many food imports from Mexico were already exempt from tariffs due to existing trade agreements, limiting the potential benefits of this action. We must also consider that food companies continue to grapple with higher costs from tariffs on materials like aluminum used in packaging. These ongoing tariffs, combined with other significant factors such as increased labor costs and climate-related challenges like droughts, have contributed to the 2.7% climb in grocery prices over the 12 months to September. I urge you to push for more comprehensive and effective measures to address food affordability. We need policies that tackle the root causes of rising food costs, including support for domestic agriculture, investments in supply chain resilience, and initiatives to mitigate the impacts of climate change on food production. The administration's acknowledgment that the effects of this tariff rollback might be limited is not enough. American families need real, tangible solutions, not symbolic gestures. I call on you to advocate for a more robust and holistic approach to food affordability that goes beyond superficial tariff adjustments and addresses the systemic issues driving up costs for consumers.