Chief Financial Officer of Walmart John David Rennie warned that President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs This could lead to higher prices for Walmart shoppers.
“Tariffs are going to increase inflation. There’s no controversy about it,” Renee said during an interview with Liz Clamons on “The Clamons Countdown” on Thursday.
“Consumers are likely going to pay more for the goods they pay for and to which these tariffs are applied.”
Under the proposals, a universal 10%-20% tariff would be imposed on imports from all foreign countries and an additional 60%-100% tariff would be imposed on imports specifically from China.
While Rainey said two-thirds of the items the company sells are made, grown or assembled in the U.S., he said it is “not untouched by that in any way.”
The company has suppliers from around the world, including China and other countries in Asia.
“We’re going to work with our suppliers as well as our private brand assortment to continue to try to lower prices for customers,” Rennie said.
A Walmart spokesperson said in a statement to Fox Business that the company is “concerned that a significant increase in tariffs could increase costs for our customers at a time when they are still feeling the remnants of inflation.”
Rennie said there is still some inflation in food prices, although the company has seen deflation in categories such as consumables and general merchandise. He said it is very difficult to predict which products will be affected and by how much.
The largest US retail trade group, the National Retail Federation (NRF), estimated in a recent study that Trump’s proposed new tariffs could rob US consumers of their spending power by $46 billion to $78 billion annually.
The NRF also said six categories of goods would be affected, including apparel, toys, furniture, home appliances, shoes and travel accessories.
Some? American manufacturer According to the trade group, there could be benefits from the tariffs, but the benefits to U.S. producers and the Treasury would not outweigh the overall harm to consumers.
The organization said low-income families will be particularly hard hit.
