Trump tariffs: Stop eating tomatoes, carrots, avocados and eggs; Trump tariffs will ruin your tastes and budget
In 2025, food prices rose as much as 8% to 12%, especially for fruits and vegetables.
Although tariffs are a way to protect American jobs and farmers, these figures tell a more complex story: The United States imports nearly half of agricultural consumption, and the price increase is largely the result of this global dependence.
Real driver: American food comes from abroad
Despite being an agricultural powerhouse, the United States is one of the world’s top food importers, buying $194 billion worth of agricultural products in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
50% of these imports are gardening products (orchards, vegetables, nuts) and are eaten every day by Americans.
Here’s what’s in your grocery cart real From:
Fruits and vegetables:
- Tomatoes, avocados, peppers, strawberries – Mexico
- Banana – Guatemala
- Blueberries, grapes – Chile
Meat and seafood:
- Beef – Canada, New Zealand
- Lamb – Australia
- Shrimp – India
- Lobster and Crab – Canada
Staple food essentials:
- Canola Oil – Canada ($1.4B per year)
- Coffee – Colombia ($1B/year)
- Cashews – Vietnam
- Refined Sugar – Mexico
- Rice – Thailand
This complex network of food origins means that even minor damage, such as tariffs, droughts or delays in transportation, has an immediate and huge impact on food prices in the United States. The Trump administration’s tariffs on Mexico, India and Canada have already brought higher costs on everything from avocado to beef. With more than 70% of U.S. seafood imports, inflation is not limited to agricultural product aisles.
Why is food inflation so severe now?
Because the United States does not have a diet that grows it, at least not all, not all year round. Instead, it relies on dozens of countries to provide staple foods and specialized crops based on climate and seasons.
The highest imported agricultural products are now more expensive:
- Mexico’s avocado and tomatoes: $4.6B total import value
- Strawberries from Mexico: $897 million
- Shrimp from India: $1.9B
- Coffee from Colombia: $1B
The tariffs imposed in March and April 2025 exaggerate the prices of these daily necessities by double digits, according to USDA forecasts and Scripps News.
And, as long as these tariffs remain, U.S. consumers will be responsible for the charge at checkout, especially for fresh food.
Shopping wisely: Skip and buy
If possible, avoid:
- Tomatoes: large imports, tariffs and damages
- Strawberries: sensitive to frost and expensive to transport
- Lettuce and green leaves: short shelf life, seasonal shortage
Better value options:
- Hami melon, honeydew: seasonal and local richness
- Zucchini, Pumpkin: Growing in U.S. states, reliable harvest
- Potatoes, onions: storage-style staple food, stable price
Check the local farmers market and CSA. Buy items in bulk when they are sold and additional items are frozen. These steps seem small, but they add up when food prices rise.
Corn: The Power of Silence Behind Rising Costs
Even outside of imports, the U.S. food price crisis has a domestic layer: corn.
Corn covers over 90 million acres of American farmland, which is an important part of everything from livestock feed and soda to processed snacks and ethanol. According to USDA data, 40% of corn is used for feeding animals and 30% is used for fuel and industry.
Therefore, when corn prices rise due to drought, refueling or investing costs, meat, milk, cereals and snacks can also become more expensive. Soaring fuel and fertilizer prices in 2025, coupled with global supply pressures, are driving higher prices for corn-connected food.
The real reason why U.S. food costs are not only rising in the United States is not only inflation or tariffs, but also structural reliance on foreign-grown food.
Many ingredients in the ordinary kitchen in the United States take off from Mexico, India, Canada, Chile, Vietnam, etc., and the country’s dining plates have become a global balanced behavior. Tariffs may be designed to “protect” U.S. interests, but for the average household trying to buy groceries, the impact is inflation, not insulation.
This is a matter of policy, trade and climate and will not disappear.
