America heavily relies on imports from around the world to keep various foods on your table year-round. This global food economy is delicate at best and becomes dramatically unsustainable if prices become too high for even average salaries to afford.
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Recently, Trump has been a bit all over the place with promises of tariffs. If Trump’s tariffs are implemented to their full extent, just what exactly will that do to your grocery bill or monthly expenses in general? In general, Trump has instituted 10% tariffs across all countries, which means U.S. grocers and small businesses shipping goods from overseas will pay the price, and they will pass some of the higher costs down to you the consumer.
Though a lot of the full impact of these price hikes remains to be seen, with import taxes ranging from 10% to as high as 54%, your grocery bill could potentially skyrocket under President Trump and his White House administration.
Shoppers have already been dealing with rising food costs in the last few years, so the fact that they are projected to go even higher is a bit daunting to everyone’s bottom line. Common imports will be most affected, and you’ll see everything from expensive eggs to shrinkflation, which creates smaller-sized products for the same (to sometimes higher) price you normally pay at checkout.
Here are some items in your cart that could go up in price the most based on tariff rates of some of the main places they are imported from:
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Coffee: Brazil (tariff rate: 10%) and Colombia (tariff rate: 10%)
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Olive Oil: European Union (tariff rate: 20%), particularly Spain, Italy and Greece
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Seafood: Chile (tariff rate: 10%), India (tariff rate: 26%), Indonesia (tariff rate: 32%) and Vietnam (tariff rate: 46%)
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Fruit: Guatemala (tariff rate: 10%), Costa Rica (tariff rate: 10%) and Peru (tariff rate: 10%)
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Wine: European Union (tariff rate: 20%), specifically France, Italy and Spain; New Zealand (tariff rate: 10%) and Australia (tariff rate: 10%)
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Beer: Mexico (tariff rate 25%), the Netherlands and Ireland (both with the EU’s 20% tariff rate) and Canada (tarrif rate: 25%)
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Rice: Thailand (tariff rate: 36%) and India (tariff rate: 26%)
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Chocolate: Ivory Coast (tariff rate: 21%) and Ecuador (tariff rate: 10%),
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Nuts: Vietnam (tariff rate: 46%), Ivory Coast (tariff rate: 21%), Brazil (tariff rate: 10%), Thailand (tariff rate: 36%)
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Cheese: European Union (tariff rate: 20%) specifically Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands
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Tariffs are taxes placed upon imported foreign products, and the companies importing those goods pay those taxes. However, because those tariffs cost the importers more money, they then in turn raise the prices of their goods.
American consumers have had a rough financial go of it in the 2020s, and now in 2025, with Donald Trump back in the White House for his second term, many are left wondering just what do all his fulfilled campaign promises actually mean for their wallet. The tariffs will not only drive up prices on everything from automobiles to cell phones but will also hit you where you eat.
Unfortunately, with universal price hikes like these, it will ultimately hit lower-income households the hardest. This is due to the fact that people living paycheck to paycheck have less disposable income and are often more dependent on cheaper imported products from other countries.
The bigger effects of tariffs are soon to be felt by grocery shoppers across the country, especially when you factor in the perishable, short shelf life of many food products.
The bottom line is that the mindset of most consumers is potentially to buy items that will go up in price before they do. However, this doesn’t really work for groceries and produce. You can’t apply the principles of economics to something you need to buy every day, week or month.
Though it’s not just food that will be impacted, your grocery bill will definitely reflect the changes the fastest. To combat this, the U.S. may have to not allow as much farm product from other countries and instead focus on buying from American farmers.
Despite the current administration’s claims, Trump’s plan with tariffs will likely cause grocery prices to go up, rather than down, according to most economists — at least in the short term. This is especially an issue with food products, as American farmers and fishers aren’t able to speedily increase production of food to counteract the import price hike. While it’s possible that their eventual production increases will level out grocery prices, in the near future, if Trump commits to his tariff plan, prices will likely rise on such imported items like coffee and certain fruits, like bananas.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Trump’s Presidency Could Impact Grocery Prices
