Trump is threatening Walmart not to increase prices due to tariffs. That's one of the most anti-business positions of any President in modern times (first hitting businesses with huge tariffs then bullying them into not raising prices to cover their higher costs).
About a month ago, I looked at that issue focusing on TV prices by studying the operating profit margins of Walmart and its suppliers.
See Can Walmart hold the line on TV prices?
Walmart suppliers are already operating at a loss. Walmart already squeezed out all the cost concessions from them before the tariffs even hit. Walmart records operating profit margins of 4%. After interest expenses and taxes, its net profit margin is only 2%. Walmart imports a material component of its inventory from China in addition to TVs.
It has no room to absorb the 30% tariff from China.
