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Floor Speech

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Mr. CRAPO. 3229, the No Tariffs on Groceries Act of 2025.

The reason groceries are so expensive is because during the last administration, inflation got totally out of control. We all know the grocery prices went up then. That is when the inflation rates were in double digits. I think at one point, they got over 20 percent.

Where is the inflation rate today? My colleagues on the other side would like to try to duck the fact that the reason grocery prices are so high is because of the inflation that was caused under President Biden's administration when we blew the top off of growth and the prices. Today, the inflation rate is at 2.7 percent, close to the Federal Reserve's target for our economy. That is just a fact that we have to recognize and deal with.

Now, this bill seeks to exempt articles of food from the President's IEEPA tariffs. I agree with my colleagues that tariffs generally should be targeted as much as possible to avoid harm to Americans. We also should consider more exemptions to harms arising from potential unintended consequences, including exemptions for unavailable natural resources.

The administration agrees. In November, the administration excluded a number of food items from the reciprocal, India, and Brazil IEEPA tariffs. By all accounts, the administration is working to identify similar exemptions in other active trade negotiations. I strongly encourage the President to pursue productive courses of engagement with U.S. stakeholders in doing so, but voting for one-off exemptions on the Senate floor in isolation of a larger negotiating strategy and broader stakeholder concerns like this bill S. 3229 asks us to do now, does not facilitate a predictable process for our negotiators or for any broader segment of stakeholder engagement.

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