Walmart CEO won't let trade, tariffs bully US consumers
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on efforts to mitigate consumer prices in wake of the tit-for-tat tariff battle between the U.S. and China.
The CEO of the nation’s largest retailer will not let trade tensions and tariff uncertainty impact U.S. consumers and businesses.
The tit-for-tat trade war between the U.S. and China could result in President Trump slapping an additional 25 percent tariff on $325 billion worth of Chinese goods. However, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told FOX Business during an exclusive interview on “Mornings with Maria” that the retail giant has been working on mitigation strategies to try and keep consumer prices low.
“Certainly at Walmart we are going to do everything we can to keep that from happening,” he told Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday. “If in fact we have to go up and given the magnitude of the number that you mentioned, eventually that can happen that we do it as little and as light as possible — that’s our objective — we are trying to save people money.”
Although Walmart makes a majority of its products in the U.S., McMillan said that he’s “paying close attention to” trade in respect to China and Mexico and hopes the negotiations get resolved quickly.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 84.27 | -0.20 | -0.24% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 202.61 | -8.87 | -4.19% |
| TGT | TARGET CORP. | 152.16 | -1.30 | -0.85% |
Last week Trump threatened to slap a tariff on all Mexican goods sold in the U.S. if the Mexican government didn’t do more to stop the surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that he expects to reach a deal with Trump ahead of the June 10 deadline.
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Walmart imports “a lot” of their fresh fruit and vegetables from across the border in Mexico, and McMillon said these negotiations are crucial, especially for tomatoes and avocados.