Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
‘Eat the Tariffs!’: Trump Warns Walmart Not to Pass Costs to Customers
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 weeks ago on
May 17, 2025

Trump tells Walmart to 'eat the tariffs' despite retailer's warning that prices on everything from bananas to car seats will increase. (AP/David Zalubowski)

Share

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 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.

Trump’s Direct Attack on Walmart

“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!!!”

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 Trump’s wrath. Trump has similarly warned domestic automakers to not raise their prices, even though outside analyses say his tariffs would raise production costs.

So far, those tariffs have darkened the mood of an otherwise resilient U.S. economy. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment on Friday slipped to its second lowest measure on record, with roughly 75% of respondents “spontaneously” mentioning tariffs as they largely expected inflation to accelerate.

Retailers Warn of Price Increases

In April, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was among the retail executives who met with Trump at the White House to discuss tariffs. But the Trump administration went forward despite warnings and has attacked other companies such as Amazon and Apple that are struggling with the disruptions to their supply chains.

Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said he thinks $350 car seats made in China will soon cost an additional $100, a 29% price increase.

“We’re wired to keep prices low, but there’s a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday after the company reported strong first-quarter sales.

The administration recently ratcheted down its 145% tariffs on China to 30% for a 90-day period. Trump has placed tariffs as high as 25% on Mexico and Canada due to illegal immigration and drug trafficking, harming the relationship with America’s two largest trading partners.

Economic Uncertainty and Federal Reserve Response

There is a universal baseline tariff of 10% on most countries as Trump promises to reach trade deals in the coming weeks after having shocked the financial markets in early April by charging higher import taxes based on trade deficits with other countries. Trump insists he intends to preserve the tariffs as a revenue source and that a framework agreement with the United Kingdom would largely keep the 10% tariff rate in place.

Trump has also placed import taxes on autos, steel and aluminum and plans to do so on pharmaceutical drugs, among other products.

The tariffs and Trump’s own reversals on how much he should charge have generated uncertainty across the U.S. economy, such that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has held the central bank’s benchmark rates steady until there is more clarity. Powell has warned that tariffs can both hurt growth and raise prices.

On Saturday, Trump repeated his calls for Powell to cut the benchmark rates. That could cause inflation to accelerate, but the president has maintained that inflationary pressures have largely disappeared from the economy.

“Too Late Powell, a man legendary for being Too Late, will probably blow it again – But who knows???” Trump posted on Truth Social.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

DON'T MISS

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

DON'T MISS

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

DON'T MISS

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

DON'T MISS

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

DON'T MISS

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

DON'T MISS

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

DON'T MISS

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

DON'T MISS

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

UP NEXT

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

UP NEXT

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

UP NEXT

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

UP NEXT

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

UP NEXT

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

UP NEXT

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

UP NEXT

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

UP NEXT

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

3 hours ago

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

3 hours ago

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

4 hours ago

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

4 hours ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

4 hours ago

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

4 hours ago

Documentary Series Goes Inside Trump’s Bubble

5 hours ago

Tulare County Gang Member Convicted of Trying to a Murder Police Officer

5 hours ago

Newsom Promises Funding to Jump-Start ‘Science of Reading’

5 hours ago

Feds Indict SoCal Hospice CEO for Medicare Fraud in Fresno and Kern Counties

6 hours ago

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

The world’s largest almond processor, Blue Diamond Growers, says it will close its Sacramento processing plant this year The almond co...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

3 hours ago

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

3 hours ago

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

4 hours ago

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

4 hours ago

US Supreme Court Allows DOGE Broad Access to Social Security Data

5 hours ago

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

5 hours ago

Abrego Garcia Is Returned to US From El Salvador

5 hours ago

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend