Trump attacks Walmart: debate over US tariffs and inflation flares up

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 05. 16. 11:25

The former president took to Truth Social to criticize the retail giant for warning about rising prices, saying that consumers would ultimately pay for tariffs, economists say.

Former US President Donald Trump has once again sharply criticized Walmart, this time in a post on the social platform Truth Social. The attack comes after one of the world’s largest retail chains warned customers that US import tariffs could increase the price of many products, especially goods from Asia, primarily China.

In his post, Trump wrote that Walmart should not try to pass on the additional costs to customers, but rather cover them from its own billion-dollar profits. According to him, import tariffs are not paid by American companies, but by foreign manufacturers – a claim that most experts and market participants dispute.

From child safety seats to smartphones – are everything getting more expensive?

Walmart’s CFO said the company has tried to absorb the extra costs, but they are finding it increasingly difficult. For example, they mentioned that the price of a child car seat made in China could increase by up to 29 percent due to tariffs. The situation is also affecting other companies: Amazon and Apple are both struggling with logistical problems, and although they have not officially announced it, experts say that both companies are preparing to raise prices.

Amazon even considered indicating on product data sheets how much the tariffs caused the price increase – but after a quick and furious reaction from the White House, this idea was eventually dropped. Apple is not yet clear how a possible price increase would be implemented without explicitly mentioning the tariffs as the reason.