- Walmart faces pressure from U.S.-China trade tensions and rising tariffs
- Chinese officials met with Walmart over its requests for supplier price cuts
- China criticized Walmart’s demands
Walmart is finding itself at the center of the escalating trade conflict between the United States and China.
Chinese officials confirmed on Thursday that they had met with executives from the American retail giant, following reports that Walmart had pressured its suppliers in China for discounts in an effort to manage the increasing tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
“Our relevant departments have reached out to Walmart to better understand the situation, and the company has provided an explanation,” said He Yongqian, a spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry, during a regular press briefing. However, she did not elaborate further.
Last week, Trump increased tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%. In retaliation, China announced new tariffs on US agricultural imports, which went into effect on Monday.
Many businesses are grappling with the uncertainty of Trump’s fluctuating tariff policies, which have heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Retailers have told CNN that they may be forced to raise prices, which comes at a time when consumers are already feeling the financial strain and inflationary pressures.
A Bloomberg report last week revealed that Walmart had been seeking ways to alleviate the impact of the tariffs by requesting price reductions of up to 10% from some of its Chinese suppliers.
On Wednesday, state-run broadcaster CCTV’s social media account, Yuyuantantian, posted that Chinese authorities had called Walmart for a meeting on Tuesday.
The post stated, “Walmart’s request for Chinese suppliers to shoulder the full tariff burden is unreasonable and disrupts fair competition and international trade order.”
As a potential warning, the post added that China could take “further action” if Walmart continued to push for these discounts. While it is common for companies to ask suppliers to lower prices in China, it is especially challenging now, as many are operating with very slim profit margins.
In a statement to CNN, Walmart emphasized that its goal is to help people “save money and live better.”
