Walmart warned Thursday that it will have to raise prices on its products after the Trump administration slapped additional tariffs on goods imported from China.
“We’re monitoring the tariff discussions and are hopeful that an agreement can be reached,” the retail giant’s chief financial officer, Brett Biggs, told The Associated Press, adding that increased tariffs “will lead to increased prices for our customers.”
The comments came after Walmart posted its best sales performance for the first fiscal quarter in nine years, marking 19 straight quarters of same-store sales gains, the AP noted.
Walmart did not specify the scope of the price hikes, but the warning was echoed by Macy’s CEO, Jeff Gennette, who reportedly told investors that prices for both store label and national brands could rise if another round of tariffs are slapped on China.
Walmart told the AP it is working with manufacturers to alleviate the impact of the tariffs.
President Trump has often claimed that tariffs will benefit America, saying the payments from the levies will “go directly to the Treasury of the U.S.” However, since tariffs are applied on foreign goods purchased in the U.S., the costs often get passed down to U.S consumers when retailers or other importers charge higher prices.
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Walmart warns that it will have to rise prices because of Trump tariffs https://t.co/bzmdKJLBdm pic.twitter.com/ta4s7w6zpK
— The Hill (@thehill) May 16, 2019
Of course, prices are going to rise at Walmaet and elsewhere. Only Trump fans buy the assertion that the Cinese will pay for the tariffs. I have also read that the higher prices resulting from the tariffs will wipe out whatever savings were generated by the so-called Trump tax cut. Since I derived no benefit from this so-called tax cut, I can’t vouch for that claim.
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