President Donald Trump listens to reporters’ questions as he meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni within the Oval Workplace on the White Home on April 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Pictures
President Donald Trump on Monday met with chief executives from three of the nation’s prime retailers, who got here to the White Home to debate how his sweeping tariff plans may affect their import-heavy enterprise fashions.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Goal chief govt Brian Cornell each attended, as did Dwelling Depot CEO Ted Decker.
A White Home official instructed CNBC earlier Monday {that a} consultant from Lowe’s would even be on the assembly. After the assembly concluded, an official instructed NBC Information that nobody from Lowe’s attended.
After the assembly wrapped, the three firms issued almost similar statements.
“We had a productive assembly with President Trump and his group and appreciated the chance to share our insights,” a Walmart spokesperson mentioned.
“We had a productive assembly with President Trump and our retail friends to debate the trail ahead on commerce, and we stay dedicated to delivering worth for American customers,” learn the assertion from Goal.
“We had an informative and constructive assembly with the President and look ahead to persevering with the dialogue,” Dwelling Depot’s assertion mentioned.
The assembly, first reported by Bloomberg earlier within the day, was not included on the president’s public schedule.
For retailers, tariffs are the most recent menace to an already difficult financial panorama, the place customers are in search of low costs after years of excessive inflation.
But tariffs will weigh on some retailers greater than others. Because the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart is in a greater place than lots of its opponents.
About two-thirds of what Walmart sells in the US is made, grown or assembled in America, chief monetary officer John David Rainey mentioned earlier this month at an investor occasion in Dallas.
Walmart imports the ultimate one third from across the globe, he mentioned, however China and Mexico are the “most important” provider international locations.
Goal, alternatively, is in a harder spot. The Minneapolis-based retailer is greatest recognized for discretionary merchandise like cheap, stylish garments and residential items, merchandise which might be usually manufactured abroad.
Goal’s annual income has been roughly stagnant for the previous 4 years, and the corporate lately projected simply 1% gross sales development for the present fiscal 12 months.
The trade’s key commerce group, the Nationwide Retail Federation, has sounded alarms concerning the harms tariffs pose to U.S. households. The group, which lobbies for and represents retailers, has launched its personal estimates of how far more customers must pay for on a regular basis objects like sneakers, toasters and mattresses.
“Extra tariffs equal extra anxiousness and uncertainty for American companies and customers,” David French, NRF’s govt vp of presidency relations, mentioned on the day Trump unveiled his “reciprocal” tariff plan, which he has since pared again.
“Whereas leaders in Washington might not care about greater costs, hardworking American households do,” French mentioned.
