The Price of Eggs Is Down Because the Government Imported Millions From Turkey and South Korea … Eggs Now Subject to Blanket Tariffs
Yes, the price of eggs, at least the price for those sold wholesale, is coming down, as Donald Trump told us last week in the middle of his now changing tariffs announcements.
But the yolk once again is in the eye of the listener in ways that resound in issues of tariffs, ethics, and the expectations of a traditional American breakfast.Once again, eggs are getting disproportionate attention as a measure of economic health, but also as a measure of political spin as tariff policy runs amok.
The retail price for a dozen grade A large eggs rose from February’s $5.90 to $6.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It was $4.95 per dozen in January. Somehow, Donald Trump still blames Joe Biden or his auto-pen for egg price rises.
Lest you think that there is some brilliant government thinking underway or the arrival of a Jumbo Golden Goose or unafraid Henny Penny, the reason is simple: We bought them overseas in the, er, global agricultural marketplace to which we no longer choose to belong.
The price of eggs is down because the government imported millions from Turkey and South Korea — eggs now subject to global blanket tariffs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also had approached Poland and Lithuania for egg imports; they too now presumably would be paying tariffs to deliver them.
The Agriculture Department has been silent about that incongruity, although it illustrates the entire absurdity about demanding equality in international trade. In this case, the United States needs eggs that it finds it cannot produce temporarily. Are Turkey and South Korea supposed to buy U.S. made car mats or guns in equal proportion?
Though you still may not find eggs in ample supply in your local supermarket, the wholesale of price is about $3, down about 56% from a month ago. It only cost our government a billion dollars of emergency money to buy eggs and some scientists to address ways that farmers might fight contamination.
Just maybe consumers and restaurants avoiding eggs that are costly just might be a factor in the prices coming down. Even as egg prices are dropping nationwide the anxiety about the cost persists, and many consumers are getting creative at finding substitutes for public Easter egg events. Videos on how to dye marshmallows, potatoes and even onions have begun to circulate on social media and news websites, The New York Times says.
In a perhaps surprising twist, the Justice Department has started probing companies setting prices for eggs in cartel fashion, taking advantage of consumers. Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. egg producer, fell this week after the company acknowledged it is being investigated. Higher prices boosted the company’s reported sales figures starting last year. This administration has erased efforts to protect consumers, making the Justice Department action a rare statement against businesses.
Of course, the price of eggs has risen because the U.S. has fewer supplies because of the spread of bird flu, which now is also threatening other species, including humans. But then, Trump, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have fired scores, then sought to rehire at least some of those who track communicable diseases.
Meanwhile . . .
Those of us who love pageantry with commercial stickers, can swallow any ethical concerns and look forward to White House Easter Egg Hunt. On Trump’s insistence to put his stamp — and face — on everything in sight, consider it another marker for the cultural and monetary values he seems to hold so dearly.
The White House has hired an outside event production company, Harbinger, which is soliciting corporate sponsors at $75,000 to $200,000 a pop for this year’s egg roll, complete with the promise of branding the presidential property with corporate logos. The idea of festooning the White House lawn, which has been hosting the annual event since 1878, with corporate stickers strikes many from both parties as, well, somewhere between odd and offensive.
Over time, it has been privately funded without taxpayer dollars, largely through the American Egg Board, which also provides tens of thousands of eggs, though this year’s inflated prices make that interesting. Money raised by Harbinger will go to the White House Historical Association. Still, making it a branding opportunity for money runs counter to long-established regulations prohibiting the use of public office for private gain. The nine-page document outlining sponsorship opportunities for the April 21 activity booths, artists, music, vendors, staging, equipment and decorations.
In previous years, the White House Legal Counsel’s Office has told corporations that they could not use the event for promotion purposes. In this administration, corporate sponsorships — including Trump’s recent promotion work for Elon Musk’s Tesla company — apparently are fine.
