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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAP: Trump warns Walmart: Don't raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes
By JOSH BOAK
Updated 2:39 PM EDT, May 17, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) 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 skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to childrens 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. Ill be watching, and so will your customers!!!
The posting by the Republican president reflected the increasingly awkward series of choices that many major American companies face as a result of his tariffs, from deteriorating sales to the possibility of incurring Trumps wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs.
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Silent Type
(12,412 posts)vapor2
(3,772 posts)jmowreader
(52,901 posts)BENTONVILLE, AR (Spurious News Network) The Walmart Home Office has released a statement in response to King Donald Trumps edict that the retail giant eat Trumps tariffs rather than passing them on to consumers:
President Trump, theres a problem in your demand. Walmart simply cant eat your tariffs and survive. We are comfortable with a 24.9 percent profit margin and work hard to keep it about that. This allows us to operate our stores, keep prices low for the benefit of our customers, and provide a reasonable return to our investors. Your tariffs are higher than that - in some cases, radically higher. If we dont pass your tariffs on to our customers, well be out of business before the end of the year. This would be more of a problem for the people we serve than higher prices would be. We must respectfully decline to do as you demand.
BOSSHOG
(44,738 posts)Interpreting trump. Dont dare blame me for bad things that happen because I do stuff. Millions of stupid people voted for me. Walmart was very successful last year. Now they should do the right thing. Save me from myself. The leader of the party of responsibility.
stumpysbear
(268 posts)Cha
(316,794 posts)Fry in Hell.
Will Walmart "obey" their cult god damn god?
Rebl2
(17,404 posts)You just got back from a long trip. Why dont you take a nap and stay off social media today
GoCubsGo
(34,668 posts)I wonder if The Imbecile realizes he just admitted that it's really the importers, who then pass it off to their consumers.
LetMyPeopleVote
(174,963 posts)If Trump were right about foreign countries paying tariffs, why is he demanding that Walmart simply eat the tariffs? Because hes wrong about the basics.
By trying to bully Walmart, Trump gives away the game on his tariffs agenda - MSNBC
— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2025-05-19T13:52:23.601Z
apple.news/ABKcQqIWIS7y...
Link to tweet
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trying-bully-walmart-trump-gives-away-game-tariffs-agenda-rcna207634
As The Washington Post reported, the president did not take the news well.
President Donald Trump over the weekend admonished Walmart for warning that his tariffs could force a price increase, urging the worlds biggest retailer to simply absorb the consequences of his trade war. ... The president responded Saturday, posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Walmart should EAT THE TARIFFS and not charge valued customers ANYTHING.
......When it comes to the presidents approach to the issue, he has repeatedly pushed a simple claim: Foreign counties pay the tariffs. Thats never made any sense, and everyone whos ever taken an Economics 101 course has tried to explain how absurd this belief is, but Trump whose capacity for confusion about the basics of trade policy is endless has nevertheless clung to the assertion, telling the public that tariffs on China, for example, lead Beijing to put money in American coffers. Thats long been absurd, but the Republican has long been impervious to the policy details.
Trumps latest online statement, however, gives away the game: He apparently now realizes, at least on some level, that his tariffs are responsible for pushing Walmarts costs higher, and the retailer now intends to push its prices higher as a result.
The president wants Walmart to simply eat the tariffs meaning, Trump wants the company to profit less in order to accommodate the tariff-related costs. Time will tell whether Walmart follows the White Houses lead......
But again, the dust-up itself served as a reminder to Trump that its American businesses and American consumers that feel the pinch from his tariffs.
It was against this backdrop that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on the Senate floor in late April, calling on companies to do what Amazon was prepared to do. To the large businesses that sell to consumers, I say: Show your customers how much tariffs are hurting in their pocketbooks, the New York Democrat said. People deserve to know the impact tariffs have on their finances. ... And its also small businesses: They dont want to get blamed for hiking prices when Donald Trumps tariffs have put them in a terrible position in a position that says, raise your prices of close your doors. They hate doing either.
A week later, congressional Democrats introduced legislation to codify this idea into law, unveiling a bill that would require retailers to display costs that reflect Trump-imposed increases. Although the legislation will never be seriously considered in a Republican-led Congress, the effort itself should be part of an educational campaign for the president, which seems to be working, slowly but surely.
dalton99a
(92,127 posts)GoodRaisin
(10,735 posts)He should be told to go back and finish his promise to negotate deals with 90 countries.
Add this to his list of broken promises. What a weak, horrible fucking leader.