President Donald Trump on Saturday warned retailer Walmart against raising its prices due to the sweeping global tariffs he imposed on China and several other nations back in April.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that Walmart should “EAT THE TARIFFS” and “not charge valued customers ANYTHING.”
Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. 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!!!
On Thursday, Walmart cautioned that tariffs on China could compel it to raise prices on certain products, CBS News reported.
Walmart on Thursday warned that even softer tariffs on China could soon force the company to raise prices on certain items.
The world's largest retailer said President Trump's wide-ranging levies on U.S. trade partners are impeding its ability to keep prices low for its customers.
"We can control what we can control," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the company's first quarter earnings call Thursday. "Even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices," he added.
The price hikes will go into effect later this month. Walmart, a bellwether for consumer spending, joins other larger retailers in warning that they are likely to raise prices as tariffs drive up their costs.
The Trump administration on Monday said that, starting May 14, it is lowering the tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145% to 30% for 90 days. As part of that agreement, China will reduce its 125% tariff on American goods to 10%. The sides are expected to continue negotiations, although ongoing uncertainty over trade policy is weighing on companies.
"The merchandise that we import comes from all over the world from dozens of countries," McMillon said. "Other than the U.S., the other large markets are China, Mexico, Vietnam, India and Canada. China, in particular, represents a lot of volume in certain categories like electronics and toys. All of the tariffs create cost pressure for us, but the larger tariffs on China have the biggest impact. The cost pressure from all the tariff impacted markets started in late April, and it accelerated in May."
Still, the Walmart executive emphasized that the retailer will do what it can to avoid passing the import taxes onto customers.
"We'll do our best on what we can control in order to keep food prices as low as possible," McMillon said. "In some cases we are holding retail prices where they are despite the tariffs cost pressures."
Wait a minute… Trump’s mad that Walmart is blaming tariffs—that he implemented—for higher prices… and says the real issue is they don’t want to eat the cost?
— Agent Self FBI (@RetroAgent12) May 17, 2025
So the problem isn’t the tariffs. It’s that corporations won’t sacrifice their profits to cover for his economic… pic.twitter.com/ZmQxdoNIjL
The trade wars have left many retailers and other industries waiting to see what kind of deals the White House will make with critical trading partners — especially China. Washington and Beijing recently reached a temporary 90-day agreement, under which neither country will raise tariffs to the levels both have threatened since Trump's announcement.
Walmart claims it’s raising prices on its popular items because of President Trump’s tariffs.
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) May 16, 2025
I’m calling out their BS!
Here’s why… pic.twitter.com/BLjLKQn3tg
However, if the two nations are unable to work out a workable trade deal before the timeframe expires, each could see duties over 100 percent on their products, which could force companies like Walmart to raise prices.