Walmart announced recently that it anticipates raising prices substantially in a move it claims is necessitated by the associated cost of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
Even though tariffs have come down substantially since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement last month, the retail giant is telling its millions of customers nationwide to brace for sticker shock in the near future.
But the president doesn’t think it’s necessary to pass along the costs to customers, and he made that clear in a recent social media post.
According to The Hill:
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “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,” he added. “I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
ADVERTISEMENTOn Thursday, the retail giant announced plans to increase prices as early as next month in an effort to pass along costs associated with Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda.
“We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop,” a Walmart spokesperson told The Hill on Saturday. “We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins.”
News of Walmart’s forthcoming price hikes sparked significant social media discussion in recent days:
Hey @Walmart, $169B in profits last year with 75% of the products you make here and your CEO DARES to blame tariffs for future BS raised prices? Man FUQ off! Well boycott y’all’s asses too! pic.twitter.com/zxDFCnVIHD
— Shaughn_A (@Shaughn_A2) May 16, 2025
Walmart claims it’s raising prices on its popular items because of President Trump’s tariffs.
I’m calling out their BS!
Here’s why… pic.twitter.com/BLjLKQn3tg
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) May 16, 2025
The real reason Walmart is raising their prices is to pay the artists and consultant teams who came up with the revolutionary logo rebrand they announced earlier this year, this kind of artistic vision don’t come cheap pic.twitter.com/M738u2JNhj
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) May 17, 2025
CNBC also covered the dispute between Walmart and the White House:
Walmart CFO John David Rainey said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that, “We have not seen price increases at this magnitude, in the speed in which they’re coming at us before, and so it makes for a challenging environment.”
As a retail giant and the largest grocer in the country, Walmart is often seen as a bellwether for the health of retailers and U.S. consumers.
Rainey said he is “pleased with the progress that’s been made by the [Trump] administration on tariffs from the levels that were announced in early April, but they’re still too high.” That is despite a 90-day reprieve that lowered duties on Chinese imports to 30%. Goods from dozens of other countries face a 10% duty. Walmart imports electronics and toys from China and produce including avocados and bananas from Central and South America.
He said that the retailer wants to keep its prices lower than competitors, especially at a time when shoppers are seeking discounts. To do that, he said Walmart will absorb some of the tariff-related higher costs and he expects suppliers to absorb some higher costs, too.
And here’s some additional coverage:
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.
View the original article here.
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