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President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was scrapping U.S. tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swath of other commodities — a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices. Story by Eliza Herbert.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Saturday that Brazilian exported goods to the U.S. including coffee, beef and tropical fruits still would be tariffed 40%, despite President Donald Trump's decision to remove some import taxes.

On Friday, Trump scrapped levies announced in April that were intended to encourage domestic production while lifting the U.S. economy. Brazil at the time was hit with a 10% tariff.

In July, Trump imposed a further 40% tariff, citing — among other reasons — the trial of his ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, which he called a "witch hunt." Proceedings went ahead regardless and Bolsonaro was sentenced in September to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup.

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stands Sept. 2 at the entrance of his home in Brasilia, Brazil, while under house arrest.

Alckmin said some products, such as orange juice, would now have a zero tariff as they were not targeted by the additional 40%. However, that extra tariff remains in place on products including coffee, beef and tropical fruits, such as mangos and pineapples.

While Brazil's vice president welcomed Trump's latest decision, which he called "positive" and a "step in the right direction," he said there remained a "distortion that needs to be corrected."

"Everyone got 10% less, but in Brazil's case, which had 50%, we ended up with 40%, which is very high," Alckmin told journalists in the capital, Brasilia.

Alckmin said that Friday's decision means that 26% of Brazilian goods now enter the U.S. without additional tariffs. That's up from 23%.

Trump's July decision, which was overtly political as Brazil has a trade deficit with the United States, led to the worst U.S.-Brazil relations in history.

President Donald Trump meets with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Oct. 26 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Those relations since improved, and in October Brazilian President Luiz InÃĄcio Lula da Silva and Trump met in Malaysia.

"President Lula's conversation with President Donald Trump was important in terms of dialogue and negotiation," Alckmin said Saturday.

After that encounter, Lula said he was confident the two countries would soon reach a trade deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met for 50 minutes this past week to further the conversation.

The Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry said it would continue to monitor the situation. "(We) will keep working to ensure legal certainty, competitiveness, and predictability for the Brazilian coffee industry," the group's president, Pavel Cardoso, said.

Coffee beans are prepared Aug. 4 at a farm in Braganca Paulista, Brazil.

Trump's abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to the American diet came after voters in off-year elections this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey and other key races around the U.S.

The Trump administration insisted that its tariffs helped fill government coffers and weren't a major factor in higher prices at grocery stores. However, Democrats were quick to paint Friday's move as an acknowledgment that Trump's policies hurt American pocketbooks.

Inflation remains elevated. Record-high beef prices were a particular concern, and Trump said he intended to take action to try to lower them. The Republican president's tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter, were a factor.

The Food Industry Association, which represents retailers, producers and a variety of related industry firms and services, applauded Trump's move Friday to provide “swift tariff relief,” noting import taxes "are an important factor” in a “complex mix” of supply chain issues.

“President Trump’s proclamation to reduce tariffs on a substantial volume of food imports is a critical step ensuring continued adequate supply at prices consumers can afford,” the association said.

In explaining the tariff reductions, the White House said some of the original levies Trump imposed are no longer necessary given the trade agreements he since hammered out with key U.S. trading partners.

Indeed, the Trump administration said earlier Friday it reached framework agreements with Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina meant to increase the ability of U.S. firms to sell industrial and agricultural products in those countries, while also potentially easing tariffs on agricultural products produced there.

Late Friday, Trump repeated his assertions that his administration would use revenue the federal government collected from import levies to fund $2,000 checks for many Americans. “Everybody but the rich will get this," he said, and suggested the checks could be issued in 2026. However, he also said federal tariff revenue might be used to pay down national debt.

He rejected suggestions that attempting direct payments to Americans could exacerbate inflation concerns — even as he suggested that similar checks offered during the COVID-19 pandemic and by previous administrations to stimulate the economy had that very effect.

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