Bombshell Report: Trump Tariffs Inflate Food Costs

Bombshell Report: Trump Tariffs Inflate Food Costs

M.A. Dworkin

     USVI - President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs forced mid-sized U.S. companies to pass on the costs of food and goods to American consumers causing a spiraling of prices that has greatly damaged the pocketbooks of many U.S. and USVI families.

     The report issued by the JPMorganChase Institute revealed the reason for staggering cost rises in food products and goods was directly attributable to the amount of tariffs paid by mid-sized businesses which has more than tripled since early 2025 when worldwide tariffs were placed into effect.

     As a result, midsized companies - who employ around 48 million workers in the U.S. and generate roughly one-third of private sector gross domestic product (GDP) - have had to absorb the costs in other ways, such as raising prices or accepting lower profits. 

     “That’s a big change in their cost of doing business,” said Chi Mac, Executive Director at the JPMorganChase Institute and one of the authors of the report. “We also see some indications that they may be shifting away from transacting with China and maybe moving toward some other regions in Asia.”

     These mid-size companies, which often lack leverage over suppliers, were forced to continue buying foreign imports in 2025 as duty payments rose 316 percent above pre-election levels. 

     A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that roughly 90 percent of tariff costs are being passed on to U.S. consumers and businesses rather than foreign exporters.  

     The findings are the latest blow to Trump’s claim that his “Liberation Day” tariffs will largely be absorbed by overseas companies rather than passed on to U.S. consumers.

     In the last year, prices at grocery stores have increased nearly 10%, with beef prices up nearly 17% and coffee prices rising nearly 20%. The USDA expects prices to continue to rise in 2026. 

     Food costs in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) during 2025 and the start of 2026 have also shot up in an alarming manner on many items, including beef and coffee. But prices are up 10-20 percent across all shelves, affecting most products. The Territory has always been burdened by higher food costs, which are generally manageable by families, due to the cost of shipping items from the mainland, and the high cost of electricity to run establishments, but the Trump tariffs have given grocery retailers a green-light to raise prices to an uncomfortable level. 

     Still, an argument can be made that grocery retailers in the USVI have had the added luxury of keeping food costs high in the Territory for decades due to the abnormally high percentage of families on (SNAP) food stamps. Logic dictates that when the government is footing a good portion of your food bill, what difference does it make if an item is 10 or 20% higher? It’s the families that are not on SNAP who are burdened with paying the higher costs. 

     A recent study by the Tax Foundation uncovered that although Trump issued tariff exemptions on various food products, including beef, fruits, spices, and coffee, more than half of food products continue to face considerably higher prices on the shelves of retailers. On the other hand, economists generally believe these higher prices may also be attributable to other factors such as supply chain issues and disruptions, fluctuating energy costs, and seasonal demand.

     President Trump has often defended tariffs on the grounds that they will boost domestic production and create jobs, which may eventually be the case in the manufacturing sector as well as imported food products, but as far as food imports are concerned, it is often difficult or impossible to onshore production due to land scarcity and a lack of suitable climates for certain goods. Consumers also often prefer the foreign alternative to American produced products. 

      Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision that invalidates a number of Trump’s tariffs, it is unlikely that the price of most food products will return to pre-tariff levels. While the Administration has recognized that the tariffs have impacted food prices and, in so doing, have introduced new exemptions, consumers in the U.S. and USVI have no doubt had their pocketbooks fleeced by tariffs, along with other inflationary causes, which will likely remain in effect on more than half of food imports for the foreseeable future.