Trump officials: Lower prices and greater affordability are coming

Grocery prices will come down, and consumers should feel a real rebound in purchasing power in the first half of 2026, the Trump administration's top economic officials said Sunday. Why it matters: The government's own inflation data keeps ticking up, as most shoppers say they're paying more for groceries now than a year ago.The affordability crisis has become a political liability for the White House, as the Trump administration confronts the same reality the Biden administration did: Economic success doesn't really matter to voters if grocery prices are rising. Administration officials have tried different tactics — first downplaying inflation while warning of a recession, and now promising voters they'll see progress within months.Catch up quick: Late Friday night, President Trump signed an executive order lifting reciprocal tariffs on coffee, tea, beef, tropical fruits, juices, nuts and spices.Of the hundreds of goods and services that make up the Consumer Price Index, nothing is rising faster than coffee and beef, up 15% to 20% year over year. The big picture: The move is still an acknowledgment of sorts — that Americans bear at least some of the cost of tariffs, that they've driven up food prices, and that reversing trade policy may be one of the fastest ways to ease the pain.What they're saying: "The prices for those goods weren't necessarily going up just because of tariffs," National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said on ABC's "This Week."Hassett, like other administration officials in recent days, pointed to a range of external factors — including weather and disease — driving most of the price increases for things like beef, coffee and cocoa.After removing duties, "the prices will go down, of course," Hassett said.But when asked by ABC's Jon Karl if that was specifically because of lower tariffs, Hassett replied: "Because the supply of goods into the U.S. is going to increase."What to watch: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," said real relief was only months away as the administration's economic policies take hold. "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."I will tell you what we're not going to do, what we're not going to do is tell the American people that they don't know how they're feeling."The bottom line: It's not clear how soon, or even if, the tariff relief will show up in consumer prices. Due to the lingering effects of the shutdown, it's not clear when the government will next report inflation data, either.

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