CHICAGO, November 17, 2025 — President Trump has lifted the protectionist tariffs he’d levied on many of the foods that had the food-away-from-home-industry worried about the kitchen staples’ price and availability, including coffee, cocoa, beef, and tomatoes.
The exemptions apply to products that cannot be grown domestically, regardless of their source country. The list extends to several dozen pages, which can be viewed in its entirety here.
The reversal of the tariffs comes as the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether the President had the legal authority to impose many of the duties in the first place.
Trump said in an executive order issued Friday that he rescinded the tariffs after consulting with White House officials about “the status of negotiations with various trading partners, current domestic demand for certain products, and current domestic capacity to produce certain products.”
Various trade groups had been pressing the Administration to lift the tariffs on foods and beverages, particularly ones that cannot be cultivated domestically, like bananas.
One of those groups was the National Restaurant Association. It praised Trump’s rollback of the duties, but said the Administration should add more exemptions to the list.
“This action delivers needed relief for restaurants and their customers at a time when food costs have risen nearly 40% over the past four years,” Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the association, said in a statement. “We remain committed to working with the Administration to address remaining tariffs, including country-specific ones, to keep restaurant prices affordable and supply chains strong for businesses and diners alike."
White House officials had indicated last week that a selective rollback was coming. At that time, they were focused on the agricultural products imported from four South American nations: Ecuador, Argentina, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Duties remain on a number of nonfoods of critical importance to the FAFH industry, such as furnishings and building supplies.
The Supreme Court’s initial questioning of the White House’s representative in the high court led many to predict that many of the tariffs would be discontinued and rebates paid because Trump lacked the constitutional authority to exercise what are wartime powers.
The Court has not yet indicated when it might issue its ruling. Two lower courts have already struck down the tariffs, though they allowed the Administration to continue collecting the import duties.
An update on the tariffs, as well as a review of recent developments in the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, will be presented by IFMA The Food Away from Home Association via a webinar scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. CST. Interested parties can register here.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.