Trump Urges Walmart to Absorb Tariffs

President Donald Trump has urged Walmart to “absorb tariffs” instead of raising prices and attributing them to the Trump administration’s policies. His comments were made in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, suggesting that the retail giant should take a different approach.

“Walmart should stop trying to denounce tariffs as a reason to raise prices across the chain. Walmart made billions more than expected last year. Between Walmart and China, they should just absorb the tariffs, and not burden customers,” Trump stated.

This statement comes after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon indicated that prices for popular products, particularly those sourced from China, could increase due to new tariffs. In a response on the company’s retail strategy, Walmart asserted their commitment to keeping prices as low as possible.

“We’ll keep retail margins as low as we can to maintain affordable pricing,” the company emphasized, according to Reuters.

On Thursday, Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey discussed the rising cost environment, admitting that the current inflationary trends are unprecedented. He also mentioned a recent agreement with the Trump administration regarding tariffs, which reduced rates from 145% to 30%.

“I am pleased with the progress on tariffs made by the administration, but costs are still high,” Rainey noted.

Trump contended that the tariff policies were designed to encourage American manufacturing and lessen reliance on China, thereby revitalizing factory jobs in the U.S.

The most recent tariff arrangement with China is set to last for 90 days. Trump remarked on Friday, “If I hadn’t dealt with China, I think they would have faced bigger issues. We are resilient.” He also previously met with McMillon to discuss how tariffs might affect imported goods.