The Trump administration’s brilliant plan to use tariffs as a means to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. has run into a bit of a hitch: Not everything that the public wants can be manufactured in America.
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tried to brush off concerns over the president’s tariff proposals, insisting that the nation and its myriad businesses would learn self-reliance under the controversial policy.
“What’s the tariff on bananas? Americans, by the way, love bananas. We buy billions of them a year,” asked Pennsylvania Representative Madeleine Dean. “What’s the tariff on bananas?”
“The tariff on bananas would be representative of the countries that produce them,” said Lutnick, eventually clarifying that the tariff rate would be generally 10 percent.
Bananas top the list of America’s favorite fresh fruits, with the average American consuming approximately 27 pounds of bananas every year, according to the Mayo Clinic. That’s the basis of a colossal global trade network, fueling billions of dollars in trade between the U.S. and its biggest banana suppliers: Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Honduras. In March alone, the U.S. imported roughly $260 million in bananas. But Americans have already started to notice changes at the till in the handful of weeks that have passed since Donald Trump first announced his tariff plan.
“Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8 percent,” Dean said. Bananas are Walmart’s most popular product. By the middle of May, banana prices at the big box store had gone up to 54 cents per pound, from 50 cents.
“As countries do deals with us, that will go to zero,” Lutnick said. (On Wednesday, Lutnick let slip that he believes reciprocity—or the idea of bringing tariffs between two countries to zero—would be the “silliest thing we could do.”)
“Mr. Secretary, I believe you know better. I believe you realize that a trade deficit is not something to fear. I believe you know that predicability is essential for businesses. I wish you would show that truth to this administration,” Dean said.
But after Dean’s time expired, Lutnick insisted that he had a final comment to make on the issue.
“There is no uncertainty, if you build in America and you produce your product in America, there will be no tariff,” Lutnick said, as Dean interjected: “We cannot build bananas in America.”
DEAN: What’s the tariff on bananas?LUTNICK: Generally 10%DEAN: Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8%LUTNICK: If you build in America, there is no tariffDEAN: We cannot build bananas in America pic.twitter.com/joZgWLND71
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2025
The post Trump Commerce Sec Makes Bonkers Claim About Building… Bananas? appeared first on New Republic.
