Trump Says Walmart Should ‘Eat the Tariffs’ After Retailer Signals Price Hikes

The president says retail giants should absorb costs after management says administrative customs policies will raise consumer prices.

President Donald Trump said on May 17 that after retailers said they would raise prices in line with US tariff policies, Walmart should absorb additional costs rather than handing them over to American consumers.

“Walmart should stop trying to denounce tariffs as a reason to raise prices across the chain,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday. “Walmart made billions of dollars last year. More than I expected. Don’t charge your precious customers, as it is said between Walmart and China, “eating tariffs.”

The responsibilities came just days after Walmart executives said a recent increase in import operations would affect shelves prices later this month.

“Our short-term and long-term opportunities are clear. The immediate challenge is clearly to navigate the impact of tariffs in the US,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a May 15th call to revenue. “We will do our best to keep prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even the levels of decline announced this week cannot absorb all the pressure given the reality of retail margins.”

Under a recent agreement with China, the US reduced tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30% for 90 days.

Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said the lower fees are still too steep.

“We’re wired at our everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb,” Rainey told CNBC. “We’re probably going to start seeing more towards the end of this month and in June.”

But former Walmart CEO Bill Simon questioned the company’s rationale, noting that even as gross profit margins increased, general product prices fell in the last quarter. “So, in my opinion, they give them a room to manage the impact of the tariffs they have,” he told CNBC in an interview.

Walmart executives said they are taking steps to limit the impact on consumers by working with suppliers to coordinate sourcing, alternative materials and product mixes. Still, they said some price increases are likely inevitable.

“We are in a position to manage what is better than anyone else in the cost pressure from tariffs,” MacMillon said in a revenue call Thursday. “But even if the level drops, the higher the tariff, the higher the price.”

Trump’s comments on Walmart come shortly after another episode involving Amazon, who was reportedly considering showing the impact of tariffs on product prices. The White House criticized the alleged plan as “hostile and political acts” and accused Amazon of targeting the administration while turning a blind eye to inflation under President Joe Biden. She also claims the company’s relationship with the Chinese propaganda outlet. Amazon denied the report, and Trump later praised Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos for “doing the right thing.”

Since taking office, Trump has pursued a vast customs policy aimed at restructuring global trade ties. The administration says tariffs are needed to level the playing field after years of trade imbalances and unfair practices by other countries.