Trump says China and Walmart should ‘eat the tariffs’ instead of raising prices
The US president lashed out at the retail giant after it warned that everything from bananas to child car seats could get more expensive
US President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs.
As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a sceptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and carmakers would absorb the additional expenses.
Most economic analyses are deeply sceptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats could increase in price.
Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump posted.
“Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”