Walmart said Thursday it plans to raise prices on some goods beginning later this month, in response to President Trump’s tariffs.
“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 announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is expected to say during a Thursday earnings call, according to prepared remarks obtained by several media outlets.
The U.S. and China agreed earlier this week to lower their respective reciprocal tariffs for 90 days as they look to end a bruising trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. reduced the tariff on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. China reduced its tariff on American goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.
Still, Walmart said the “lack of clarity that exists in today’s dynamic operating environment makes the very near-term exceedingly difficult to forecast.”
The planned price hikes come even as Walmart said sales at its U.S. stores rose more than 3 percent in its most recent quarter, which ended in April. The company, which is the largest retailer in the U.S., also saw its e-commerce sales increase more than 20 percent.
Walmart also kept its full-year financial forecast the same, projecting revenue will increase 3 to 4 percent this year.
Tariffs have led to a 0.3 percent increase in prices this year, according to the Federal Reserve. Products including mattresses, toys, and strollers have been hard-hit by the increased tariffs.
The president placed a baseline 10 percent tariff on all imports and tacked on additional levies for countries with which the U.S. has a significant trade deficit.
After reaching a trade deal with the U.K. last week, Trump said there are “Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!”
The White House has not taken kindly to other companies’ attempts to blame tariffs for price increases.
When Amazon reportedly considered displaying the added cost of tariffs on some items last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the plans a “hostile and political act.” Amazon later dismissed the reporting, saying it had no plans to do so.
Meanwhile, when Mattel said it planned to raise prices on its toys because of tariffs, Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on the company’s toys and suggested the toymaker should remove its CEO.