President Donald Trump’s recently announced tariffs on food and beverage imports might raise the price of staple menu items like coffee and hamburgers, the National Restaurant Association is warning. The group urges the government to remove food and beverage goods from ongoing trade negotiations, arguing that tight profit margins and rising wholesale food prices may compel restaurants to boost menu pricing, drive away customers, and endanger industry jobs.
On Friday, August 1, the National Restaurant Association released the following: Recently, President Donald J. Trump announced a number of additional tariffs that may affect the price of food and drink. These adjustments may result in higher costs for many other necessary menu items as well as well-known restaurant fare like coffee and hamburgers. Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, issued the following statement regarding the effects of these changes on patrons and restaurant operators:
Due to pressure from the economy and regulations, as well as a nearly 5% increase in wholesale food prices since last year, running a restaurant is getting harder. The situation will worsen as a result of these increased levies on food and drink products.
It is clear that these tariffs will raise the cost of accessing many crucial menu items, even if we are still assessing the entire impact of these pronouncements.
Due to extremely narrow profit margins, many restaurant operators may be forced to raise menu pricing, which they find difficult to accomplish because we know that if costs rise, Americans may decide to eat out less frequently. When fewer people eat out, a sector that sustains local economies and millions of employment is put in danger.
We urge the administration of President Trump to keep implementing reasonable trade deals. Although it is crucial to reduce trade deficits, food and beverage items do not significantly contribute to these imbalances. We fervently support keeping food and drink items excluded from tariff negotiations and making sure that USMCA-compliant products continue to be exempt in continuing discussions with Canada and Mexico. These steps will keep eating out cheap for families, protect small businesses, and maintain jobs.
Even while restaurants are resilient, we still need policies that allow us to properly serve our communities.
Read the Association’s letter to the U.S. Trade Representative from July 29th, which calls for the exemption of food and beverages from tariffs.
