U.S. retail and restaurant operators said they are concerned about the impact U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from several countries will have on food prices, consumers, and businesses.
The U.S restaurant industry, which is already struggling financially with multiple bankruptcies, restaurant closures, and higher food prices, will now have to navigate the fallout of tariffs in order to keep their doors open, National Restaurant Association (NRA) President and CEO Michelle Korsmo said.
“The biggest concerns for restaurant operators – from community restaurants to national brands – are that tariffs will hike food and packaging costs and add uncertainty to managing availability while pushing prices up for consumers,” Korsmo said. "Restaurant operators know consumers are very sensitive to costs and have kept menu price increases to 30 percent, while their food costs have gone up 40 percent in the last five years.”
The NRA asked the Trump administration to have food and beverages removed from the tariffs.
The uncertainty and inflationary pressures created by reciprocal tariffs are a major worry for American consumers and food industry member companies that operate on slim 1.6 percent retail and 7.5 percent food manufacturing net margins, FMI - The Food Institute President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin said on 2 April.
Customers are “apprehensive,” Sarasin said, noting that 54 percent of shoppers in FMI’s March Grocery Shopper Snapshot cited increased tariffs on imported food as their biggest concern related to the price of groceries, a 5 percentage point increase from January.
“Our food system is intricately linked with global markets − including products not grown in the U.S. like bananas or seasonal items − which helps keep prices down while providing American shoppers year-round access to safe, nutritious food,” Sarasin said.
Sarasin added that the tariffs could cancel out ...
