00:00The United States has been dealing with rising egg prices or eggflation, but what does that actually mean?
00:07Well, let's take a look at wholesale prices. In May last year, a dozen eggs cost roughly $1.60.
00:15Now let's take a look at wholesale prices in February this year. Those 12 eggs cost more than $8.00.
00:22In other words, five times as much as they did last May.
00:26The White House announced a plan just after those prices peaked in late February.
00:31Less than two weeks later, it tweeted this.
00:34Egg prices plunge nearly $2.00, now lower than when Trump took office.
00:40And it's true. Prices have been dropping. By the end of March, the wholesale price was just over $3.00 per dozen.
00:48That's still nearly double the original price of May last year, but it's much better compared to February.
00:55So, did President Trump crack the egg problem?
00:59Well, he promised to spend a billion dollars to help farmers curb the spread of bird flu.
01:04Those measures may have played a role.
01:06At the same time, demand for eggs fell sharply between February and March.
01:12Consumers may have grown wary of high prices, cutting back on purchases.
01:16That drop in demand may have curbed prices.
01:20But there's another element. The United States looks set to import hundreds of millions of eggs.
01:25Officials said in March that they could reach out to South Korea, Turkey and Brazil.
01:30And that decision made headlines just as America prepared to impose tariffs on its trading partners.
01:36So, eggflation is unfortunate, but it's also a reminder that the U.S. can't solve all its problems on its own.
01:43As the saying goes, you can't put an egg back together once it's broken.
01:48So the question now, does the same apply to trade?
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