Walmart will absorb a portion of the costs associated with President Donald Trump's new round of tariffs, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, following direct pressure from the president and a private call with the company's CEO, Doug McMillon. The statement comes amid widespread concern about inflation and global trade volatility sparked by Trump's sweeping tariff policy.
"I was on the phone with Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, yesterday. And Walmart is, in fact, going to, as you describe it, eat some of the tariffs, just as they did in '18, '19, and '20," Bessent told NBC's Meet the Press. He later reiterated on CNN's State of the Union that "some may get passed on to consumers," but emphasized the retailer's intent to minimize price increases.
The exchange followed a post on Trump's Truth Social account on Saturday, where the president insisted the company should "eat the tariffs and not charge valued customers anything." Bessent suggested that Walmart's previous comments forecasting price increases were shaped by regulatory expectations. "What you're describing was Walmart's earnings call. The other thing the companies have to do - they have to give the worst-case scenario so that they're not sued," he said.
On Thursday, during the company's earnings call, McMillon warned that while Walmart would strive to keep prices low, "we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins." Chief Financial Officer John Rainey told CNBC that consumers would begin seeing price increases in late May and "certainly much more in June."
Walmart has not publicly confirmed Bessent's account of the conversation. A company spokesperson declined to comment on discussions between McMillon and government officials. A source familiar with the call said it had been arranged well before Trump's social media remarks and added that Walmart's position had not changed.
The debate over tariff costs coincides with Trump's broader trade agenda, which has roiled global markets since early April. The administration initially announced a wave of new tariffs, including a 10% baseline on all imports and punitive rates up to 145% on goods from over 60 countries. Though some tariffs were paused last week-most notably those on Chinese imports, now reduced to 30% for a 90-day period-the business community remains wary.
Trump described the move as a "liberation day" and said the U.S. was reversing decades of being "looted, pillaged, raped and plundered" by foreign nations. In remarks in the UAE, he added, "We have 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you're not able to see that many countries."
The administration has since revised its stance, focusing on what Bessent called the nation's "18 most important trading relationships." He said ongoing negotiations would likely lead to regional trade deals rather than sweeping multilateral agreements.
