Bessent calls Walmart CEO after Trump lashes out over price hikes

AFP | Washington

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The US Treasury chief said Sunday he had called Walmart’s CEO, a day after President Donald Trump blasted the company for hiking prices over his tariffs and urged it to “eat” the costs.

The massive American retailer on Thursday warned as it reported quarterly earnings that at least some of Trump’s tariffs would be passed onto consumers, with price hikes becoming more noticeable in the coming weeks. “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure,” Chief Executive Doug McMillon said.

That prompted Trump on Saturday to lash out on social media, saying Walmart “should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices.”

“Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING,” he said, with the warning: “I’ll be watching.” On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that he had called McMillon the previous day “to understand what he had to say.”

“So Walmart will be absorbing some of the tariffs. Some may get passed on to consumers,” he said, while arguing that decreases in inflation and Trump’s proposed tax cuts would provide relief to consumers.

Trump’s outburst at Walmart stood in contrast to his recent commentary on price hikes stemming from his tariffs, particularly the steep levies on major trading partner China.

Earlier this month, he dismissed concerns about shortages by saying that children could have “two dolls instead of 30,” and that maybe the “two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they normally would.”

Since then, Washington and Beijing have agreed to lower their tariffs while continuing to negotiate, though they still remain well above the levels from when Trump took office.