President Donald Trump has long insisted that the on-again, off-again tariffs he’s imposed will be fully paid by other countries at no cost to Americans. But both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump himself undercut that case over the weekend.
Bessent conceded that Walmart (WMT) may offload part of the cost of Trump’s tariffs in the form of higher prices for customers.
“So Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs. Some may get passed onto consumers,” Bessent said Sunday on CNN’s (WBD) “State of the Union.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors last week that the retail giant will be forced to jack up prices as soon as this month because of tariffs. “We aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” McMillon said.
That prompted Trump to scold Walmart in a social media post Saturday, saying it should “EAT THE TARIFFS” instead and avoid charging customers more.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump said on his social media site Truth Social. “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!!!” (Walmart did not make billions more than expected last year.)
Walmart is hardly alone in raising prices because of tariffs. Adidas (ADDYY) also issued a similar warning that Trump’s tariffs will lead to higher prices on U.S. products. Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has said it intends to raise prices on outdoor tools this summer as well.
Economists widely agree that tariffs amount to an import tax that’s paid by businesses and consumers. There are mounting fears that Trump’s tariff regime will take a bite out of the American economy and trigger a recession. Federal data last month showed that the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, breaking a three-year stretch of growth as tariff anxiety gripped consumers.
Trump officials sought to downplay the Walmart developments. Bessent said in his CNN interview that McMillon’s comments were made during an earnings call in which “the most draconian case” on price hikes had to be provided to comply with SEC rules. He said he’d spoken to McMillan and believed Walmart’s customers were still benefiting from other Trump administration policies.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt offered similar pushback on Monday morning. “CEOs are legally obligated to give the most dire warnings and forecasts to their investors and stakeholders,” she said. “The reality is that the president has always maintained Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs.”
While Trump has lowered some of his own previously imposed tariffs — particularly on China — they still remain at the highest level since the Great Depression nearly a century ago.