US president exempts Australian beef exports amid cost of living concerns

The customs duty imposed by the USA on Swiss goods will be reduced from 39 percent to 15 percent. Switzerland and Liechtenstein will invest at least $200 billion ($306 billion) in the United States, the White House said.

These revisions come as Trump faces pressure from voters and the Republican Party to address Americans’ concerns about affordability, one of his campaign promises in last year’s election.

Trump has rejected the idea that tariffs are contributing to price increases and said last week that he didn’t want to hear complaints about affordability “because everything is bad.”

However, grocery prices continued to increase in line with inflation, which reached up to 3 percent throughout 2025.

Trump cited beef as a particular concern in an interview with Fox News this week. “The only thing is the beef. The beef is a little high.” [in price] Because the situation of farmers is good,” he said.

Loading

“Coffee, we’ll lower some tariffs, we’ll have some coffee. We’ll get all this done very quickly, very easily. This is surgical work, it’s beautiful to watch.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says a pound of ground beef rose from $5.67 to $6.33 in the 12 months through September, an increase of 13.5 percent.

American farmers are awaiting clarification from the Trump administration on a country-specific tariff on Brazilian beef that imposes a 40 percent tax on top of the 10 percent base tariff imposed on all countries.

Brazil has previously rivaled Australia as the largest supplier to the United States, and reducing high tariffs could hurt Australia’s market share, which has risen despite Trump’s tariffs.

Loading

But agriculture industry consultant Patrick Hutchison of Gibraltar Strategic Advisory said US consumers’ appetite for red meat was growing and the outlook for Australian exports would remain strong as local farmers were unable to meet demand.

“Removing the 10 per cent tariff from everyone means everyone goes back to business as usual and for Australian producers I think you’ll see business as usual,” Hutchison said.

U.S. beef producers are struggling with consecutive below-average rainfall and the size of the national herd is shrinking.

Angus Gidley-Baird, senior animal proteins analyst at Rabobank, said this meant US dependence on imports remained strong despite the tariffs and their removal would not significantly impact the Australian import market.

“US beef demand is so strong at the moment that prices for Australian products will continue to be good,” Gidley-Baird said.

Even if the US lifted tariffs on Brazil, it would only result in “some disruption around the edges” of Australia’s export prices, he said.

Last week’s electionsElections in which Democrats won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and achieved success elsewhere have raised concerns that the cost of living has become a major weakness for Republicans.

Senior figures in the administration acknowledged there was a problem. Trump’s trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro, a strong advocate of tariffs, said: News Country There needed to be an honest public debate “so that people can have hope about the direction we are heading.”

Navarro said he meets once a week with a special team in the White House Roosevelt Room to formulate “a plan of attack to deal with beef prices.”

The White House said in a statement that grocery prices are moving in the right direction and the prices of some basic food items are falling.

“The Trump administration will not rest until high prices resulting from Democrat policies are fully reined in,” the report said. “We are making progress and the best is yet to come.”

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative has been contacted for comment.

Get notes directly from abroad reporters about things that make headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What’s on in the World Newsletter.