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Chipotle’s CEO says the company will cover the cost of President Donald Trump’s coming tariffs and not pass higher prices onto consumers.
“It is our intent as we sit here today to absorb those costs,” CEO Scott Boatwright told NBC Nightly News. But added he couldn’t promise that would always be true.
Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada, if implemented, are set to go into effect Tuesday, although Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the president is still tinkering with the exact levels for the taxes.
“We are fortunate to have such an extraordinary economic model at Chipotle that we can withstand those types of inflationary pressures and not have to pass those costs off to the consumer,” Boatwright said. “Let’s hold pricing constant, because we don’t know if the tariffs are transitory, if they’re going to be permanent, how sticky they’ll be in the new administration.”
While the vast majority of avocados that Americans consumer come from Mexico, Chipotle (CMG+0.83%) only gets half its supply from the U.S.’s southern neighbor. The rest come from Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
Besides guacamole, it gets almost none of its food products from China or Canada. Boatwright said he only expects costs to go up 0.6% because of tariffs.
Boatright said consistent prices are important to Chipotle’s customers.
“If we can hold price constant, regardless of what’s happening in inflationary pressures, what’s happening with global economic uncertainty, and give the consumer abundance, [and] variety with wholesome, fresh ingredients that they can’t get anywhere else, that’s how we’ll deliver value for the consumer in 2025,” the CEO said.