A top Trump official finally has some good news about grocery costs in 2026
The Donald Trump administration has been facing a lot of criticism from experts and questions from people about the impact of tariffs and rising prices. But officials of the government claim that affordability is already getting better and grocery prices are going to further come down in early 2026. The administration's top economic officials on Sunday claimed that consumers are set to feel a rebound in purchasing power as the White House hunts for ways to lower the cost of living. While they push the message, on the ground, consumers are facing the brunt of the Trump administration's economic policies as prices remain elevated.
Affordability was a key agenda item in Trump's campaign as he routinely attacked the Biden administration for mishandling inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic. But according to CNN, average grocery prices were 2.7% up in September compared with last year. Despite this, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that things are going to get better as the administration's economic policies "take hold," Fortune reported. "I would expect in the first two quarters we are going to see the inflation curve bend down and the real income curve substantially accelerate, and when those two lines cross, Americans are going to feel it," Bessent said.
The president recently signed an executive order lifting reciprocal tariffs on coffee, tea, beef, fruits, nuts, and spices coming from Latin American countries. This move came as prices of coffee and beef are rising by up to 15% to 20% year on year, according to the Consumer Price Index, Axios reported. However, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett claimed that it was never a fault of the tariffs. "The prices for those goods weren't necessarily going up just because of tariffs," he said on ABC's "This Week." He pointed out several external factors, including weather and disease, as the reasons behind the price increase of beef, coffee, and cocoa. He then claimed that "the prices will go down, of course," after the removal of the reciprocal tariffs, not because of the executive order but because "the supply of goods into the U.S. is going to increase."
Since he won the election, the president has also doubled down on his affordability message, trying to highlight the good things his administration has done. “We have a great economy and the prices are coming down,” Trump told reporters on Sunday night before boarding Air Force One, NBC Washington reported. He blamed Democrats for an economy with “the highest inflation in the history of our country," claiming that he had brought it down to a normal level and it's going down further.
Bessent repeated the same message. However, when asked about another relief measure of the president, the $2,000 tariff rebate check for lower and middle-income Americans, Bessent didn't clarify if it was in the works.
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