Trump Urges Walmart to Absorb Impact of Tariffs
President Donald Trump has suggested that retail giant Walmart should absorb the impact of tariffs, implying that it should refrain from transferring any cost increases onto its consumer base. Following this, Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, took the opportunity to appear on various Sunday talk shows. His intention was to ease concerns about the potential inflationary consequences tied to the government’s new tariffs. In a recent statement, Walmart (WMT) cautioned that customers could soon be confronted with elevated prices due to tariff-related cost increases.
In addition, the President expressed his concern about interest rate policies with an appeal to the Federal Reserve to enact cuts sooner rather than later. Constant seeming dissatisfaction with Jerome Powell, the head of the key monetary institution, was evident in his remarks. The Trump administration is gearing up to determine tariff rates applicable to its trade counterparts in the forthcoming weeks, as revealed in a statement on Friday.
Trump further clarified that simultaneous negotiation of trade agreements with multiple nations was not feasible due to constrained resources. His recent diplomatic foray to the Middle East has ushered in an exciting opportunity for Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Both nations are keen to accelerate progress in their AI ventures, potentially sourcing advanced chip technology from entities such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Contrary to wider expectations, tariffs have seen a more rapid reduction. The effective US tariff rate, presently at 14.4%, is inching closer to its pre-Liberation Day benchmark. In parallel, Walmart (WMT) has found itself in the same league as Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift, both of whom have recently faced public admonishment from Trump via his preferred platform, social media.
The President’s dissatisfaction with Powell was further highlighted in his remark, ‘Too Late Powell, a man legendary for being Too Late, will probably blow it again – But who knows??’ He reinforced his keen interest in seeing a more proactive implementation of rate adjustments by the Federal Reserve. This sentiment was expressed in a weekend social media post, where he pushed for a rate cut ‘sooner, rather than later.’
Despite frequent criticism of Jerome Powell, President Trump holds steadfast in his views on Federal Reserve policy. He expressed his plan to finalize decisions about tariff rates for the US’s international trading partners in the next few weeks. The broad-based tariffs President Trump imposed on imports from China are anticipated to remain steady at 30%, rather than the initially projected 145%, after the current 90-day period freezes while a trade agreement is finalized.
The White House, under Trump’s leadership, intends to blacklist several Chinese companies specialising in chip manufacturing from exporting their goods. However, some of the administration’s officials are advocating a delay on this move. Their argument is that such action could potentially pose a threat to ongoing efforts to secure a comprehensive, long-term trade agreement with China.
Trump’s tariff policies are causing uncertainty within the US housing market. The effects of these imposed tariffs, as explored through the lens of Yahoo Finance’s podcast writer, Sara Belcher, reveal increasing construction costs and shortages that may critically impact homebuilding. In her analysis, ‘I think it’s just kind of going to be another lost year for housing in terms of supply and demand,’ the industry’s bleak outlook becomes evident.
Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin and author of the upcoming book ‘Hate the Game,’ echoed this sentiment. During a conversation in Qatar, Trump suggested that a new arrangement with ‘literally no tariff,’ was on the horizon. Despite this, the specifics of such a deal remain undisclosed.