Walmart executive says some prices might rise if Trump’s tariffs take effect

(The Hill) — A Walmart executive warned that President-elect Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on imports could drive the retail giant to increase the price of store items.

“We never want to raise prices,” John David Rainey, the company’s CFO said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. “Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”

Trump has proposed a 10 percent to 20 percent tariff on all imported goods, and a tariff of at least 60 percent on Chinese imports.

Republicans generally have backed him on the economic front, agreeing that the U.S. should “reset its economic relationship with China.”

The company has reported that two-thirds of merchandise sold in Walmart U.S. and 93 percent of merchandise sold in Walmart Mexico is “made, grown or assembled domestically.” This stemmed from a 2021 commitment to $350 billion effort to invest in home-grown products. 

Rainey said he thinks Walmart will work to avoid taking a hit from Trump’s proposed policies.

“We’ve been living under a tariff environment for seven years, so we’re pretty familiar with that,” he told CNBC. “Tariffs, though, are inflationary for customers, so we want to work with suppliers and with our own private brand assortment to try to bring down prices.”