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If the Instant Pot Gets a Price Hike Soon, Blame the U.S.–China Trade War

Plus, CBD-infused food and drink flourish despite technically still being illegal, and more food news to start your day

Instant Pot Photo: Jeramey Lende/Shutterstock

The Instant Pot gets tangled up in a trade war

Everyone’s favorite pressure cooker could be a casualty in the U.S.-China trade war that’s been ongoing since 2018. The Instant Pot would see a price hike of nearly $38 if the latest proposed 25 percent tariff on Chinese imports goes into effect, Bloomberg reports. That would bring the final sticker price of the most expensive version up to $187.44, a pretty hefty chunk of change for home cooks who just want to make yogurt and butter chicken in peace without getting sucked into a dispute between two economic superpowers.

Corelle, Instant Pot’s parent company, argued in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative that there are “no other viable options” for shifting production to another country, and that the multi-cookers should be exempt from tariffs because they don’t use intellectual property that’s in danger of being stolen by the Chinese government. “The Chinese government is not interested in Corelle’s technology,” said the company. It remains to be seen whether this self-own of a plea will work; in the meantime, start hoarding Instant Pots while you still can.

And in other news…

  • While Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are duking it out to snag more restaurant partnerships, U.K.-based company Meatless Farm has signed an exclusive distribution deal to sell its plant-based “meat” products in Whole Foods stores. [CNN]
  • CBD in food and drink is still technically illegal — so why does it seem like everyone is hawking hemp-infused “cucumber mint refresh” water and the like these days? (Spoiler: The answer is money.) [Washington Post]
  • 7-Eleven will start delivering to 2,000 “hot spots” like Central Park in New York, and Venice Beach in LA, through the company’s delivery app. Could this mean … Slurpees on demand?? [NRN]
  • All it takes is a mention from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a restaurant in the Bronx to almost immediately see an uptick in foot traffic. [The Guardian]
  • Police and residents of a German town apparently banded together to seize and buy up all the beer in town to deprive a nearby neo-Nazi music festival of alcohol. [The Takeout]
  • The man who threw a milkshake at British politician and Brexit leader Nigel Farage last month has been ordered to complete 150 hours of community service and to pay for Farage’s suit-cleaning bill. [CNN]
  • Ryan Reynolds is apparently not above writing spoof five-star reviews of his own gin line, nor is he above admitting to it on social media. [Page Six]
  • “I Ate a 3,000-Calorie Lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and I’m a Better Woman For It” [Jezebel]

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