Walmart CFO John David Rainey recently took to the airwaves to voice his discontent over President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs, which aim to protect American workers by imposing a 10%-20% universal tariff on imports and a hefty 60%-100% tariff on Chinese goods. Rainey warned of “inflationary” consequences, claiming that Walmart shoppers could see price hikes as a result of these patriotic policies.
“Tariffs are going to be inflationary. There’s no disputing that,” Rainey said during an interview on The Claman Countdown. “Consumers are going to pay more for the items that these tariffs are applied to.”
Translation: Walmart might have to rethink its reliance on cheap, overseas labor to pad its bottom line. Rainey admitted that while two-thirds of Walmart’s products are made, grown, or assembled in the U.S., the retail giant isn’t “immune” to the impact of tariffs due to its vast web of foreign suppliers, particularly in China.
Of course, Walmart has a long history of profiting from importing low-cost goods while U.S. manufacturers and workers shoulder the economic fallout. Rainey’s remarks sound like another big corporation crying crocodile tears over policies that prioritize American jobs over corporate profits.
The National Retail Federation (NRF)—another group that seems to think America can’t survive without cheap foreign goods—predictably chimed in. The NRF claimed that Trump’s tariffs could cost consumers $46 billion to $78 billion annually in spending power, hitting categories like apparel, toys, furniture, and household appliances. They even went so far as to say that low-income families would be the hardest hit.
Let’s get real. This is the same old fearmongering we hear every time a leader proposes protecting American workers and industries. What the NRF and Walmart fail to mention is how decades of unchecked globalization have decimated American manufacturing towns.
Here’s the inconvenient truth for the Democrats and their big-business buddies: tariffs work. They protect American workers, encourage domestic production, and challenge China’s unfair trade practices. Yes, some prices might tick up, but paying a little more to buy American beats funding a communist regime or perpetuating a broken system that only benefits multinational corporations.
Democrats and their corporate allies are quick to criticize Trump’s policies, but where are their solutions? More outsourcing? More hollowed-out communities? Sorry, America’s done with that game.
