Reports: Trump to Discuss Tariffs With Major Retailers in White House Meeting
President Donald Trump will reportedly meet with major retailers at the White House Monday (April 21) to discuss tariffs.
Bloomberg and Reuters reported on the meeting Monday, citing unnamed sources.
One of the retailers is Home Depot, which said it works with administrations from “both sides of the aisle,” according to the Bloomberg report.
Trump has said in the past that he would be willing to talk with companies about tariffs, per the report.
Reuters said Monday that an unnamed White House official confirmed the Bloomberg report and the representatives of major retailers would discuss how their businesses have been affected by the tariffs.
Walmart said CEO Doug McMillan would be at the meeting, according to the Reuters report.
Trump wrote in a Sunday (April 20) post on Truth Social: “The businessmen who criticize tariffs are bad at business, but really bad at politics. They don’t understand or realize that I am the greatest friend that American capitalism has ever had!”
It was reported Thursday (April 17) that some smaller retailers were being “uncharacteristically blunt” in sharing with customers the impact new U.S. tariffs are having on the prices of their products.
This marked a change from retailers’ traditional communication strategy when it comes to raising prices, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
It was reported April 11 that small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are likely to suffer the biggest impact from new U.S. tariffs because while they account for one-third of imports to the United States, they don’t have the resources of larger companies to deal with higher prices and other disruptions. Nearly two-thirds of SMBs said tariffs and other trade issues would hurt their company.
Trump’s meeting with the large retailers comes during the 90-day pause that he placed on his planned higher tariffs on trading partners, without pausing those he placed on China, according to Monday’s Bloomberg report. In the meantime, before those 90 days are up, White House officials are meeting with foreign leaders and business executives.
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