Days after Walmart’s chief financial officer said prices will go up at the end of May due to tariffs, President Donald Trump responded by going after the retailer on Truth Social. “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump posted on the social media site on Saturday, May 17. “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!!!”
Trump’s tariffs are ‘more than any supplier can absorb’
During Walmart’s first quarter of fiscal year 2026, revenue was at $165.6 billion, which is down from company expectations of $165.8 billion. That’s Walmart’s first quarterly revenue miss since 2020, though year-to-year revenue remained up by 2.5%.
Walmart executives on Thursday, May 15 said they’re trying to absorb higher costs from tariffs Trump imposed earlier in 2025, according to the Associated Press.
However, “it’s more than any supplier can absorb, and so I’m concerned that the consumer is going to start seeing higher prices,” Walmart CFO John David Rainey said on CNBC. “You’ll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June.”
Will the US-China trade agreement ease Walmart’s situation?
While the U.S. and China recently entered into an agreement to lower tariffs for 90 days, Rainey said on an earnings call that the current level is still “too high,” according to CNN.
Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, said on the call that tariffs on China are raising costs on electronics and toys, and tariffs on Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia are raising food costs.
On Saturday, after Trump made his remarks, a spokesperson for Walmart said in a statement to CBS News that it has always worked to keep prices as low as possible and “we won’t stop.”
What are tariffs currently set at?
Under the current deal with China, the Trump administration rolled back its 145% tariffs to 30%. Meanwhile, Mexico and Canada have seen tariffs as high as 25% and there’s a baseline tariff of 10% on most countries.
The Trump administration has maintained that the tariffs are meant to strengthen the United States’ international economic position. However, the stock markets declined and became volatile after tariffs went into effect, and the University of Michigan reported that consumer sentiment fell by 2.7% from April to May.
