STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said Walmart should “eat the tariffs” imposed by his administration on imported goods instead of hiking prices for its consumers.
His comments were in response to the world’s largest retailer saying this week it would have to start raising prices later this month due to high tariffs.
Trump in a social media post Saturday said, “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected.”
He added that the retailer should “‘not charge valued customers ANYTHING.”
Walmart in a statement to Reuters said it would “keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Thursday said the retailer could not absorb all the tariff costs because of narrow retail margins. Even so, he said the company was committed to ensuring that tariff-related costs on general merchandise, which primarily comes from China, would not drive food prices higher.
Many U.S. companies have either slashed or pulled their full-year expectations amid friction between the U.S. and its trading partners, particularly China, as consumers pull back on spending.
As a bellwether of U.S. consumer health, Walmart’s explicit statement about the impact of tariffs is a signpost for how the trade war is affecting the retail sector. Walmart is noted for its ability to manage costs more aggressively than other companies to keep prices low.
