President Donald Trump has floated a series of measures aimed at easing consumer costs, but each has met with political and industry resistance as the 2024 election approaches.
In late August, the administration rolled back tariffs on foreign beef trimmings for 90 days to lower ground‑beef prices, which have risen almost 25 percent since the start of Trump’s second term. The move drew criticism from farm‑state Republicans—including Senators Chuck Grassley, Pete Ricketts and Roger Marshall, and Representative Ashley Hinson—who warned that a flood of cheaper imports would hurt American farmers and ranchers already battling high fuel, grain and fertilizer costs. Trump responded with an executive order to aid ranchers and the Agriculture Department announced new support policies for domestic beef producers.
Earlier proposals included a ban on exporting domestic diesel fuel and a plan to issue $5,000 cash checks to adults frustrated by high food and gas prices. Both ideas were met with pushback from major oil companies and some Republican lawmakers concerned about budget deficits.
Brookings Institution director David Wessel has described the administration’s price‑cutting efforts as “symptoms of panic” in a government that has, in part, contributed to persistent inflation. He cited the war in Israel and Iran, tariffs on imports and an immigration crackdown that has tightened the supply of low‑cost labor as factors that have kept prices high since 2021.
A recent poll by SSRS for CNN found that 73 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, the lowest approval rating on the issue ever recorded by the survey, while only 27 percent approve.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration is “rigorously evaluating every option on the table to deliver” lower costs and higher real wages. Yet Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi warned that the proposals are “small in the grand scheme of things … if they’re helpful at all,” and may not move the affordability dial significantly.
In an attempt to curb rising mortgage rates, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a bond‑buying program in August to slow the rise in Treasury yields. The program has not yet lowered yields, and the average 30‑year fixed mortgage rate reached 7 percent for the first time since January 2025. Bessent defended the strategy in a congressional hearing, noting that it led to “the two most successful Treasury auctions that we’ve had in 20 years.”
Economist Rebecca Patterson of the Council on Foreign Relations cautions that the U.S. economy is too large and complex for affordability to improve in a month. “Actions taken today might help in the medium and longer term, but between now and the election, the best you can hope for is that voters appreciate that you’re trying,” she said.
<small>Source: Yahoo News — read the original story there.</small>