Walmart CFO tells Fox Business why it's steadily gaining high-income shoppers.
Exclusive: Walmart CEO Doug McMillan President-elect Donald Trump met at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday to discuss a range of issues including investment in the United States, trade relations and innovation.
The nation's largest private employer offered no further details beyond “it was a great conversation.”
“We stand ready to help move our country forward,” a Walmart spokesperson told Fox Business.
Walmart warns of higher prices if Trump implements proposed tariffs
The conversation took place before Trump was sworn in as the 47th president on January 20. It comes as several business executives from companies including Walmart, Dollar Tree and Costco have expressed concern about the impact Trump's proposed tariffs would have on inflation.
Under Trump's proposalA universal 10% to 20% tariff will be imposed on imports from all foreign countries and an additional 60% to 100% tariff on imports from China. Trump also said he would issue an executive order after taking office to impose 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States from Mexico and Canada.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillan delivers a keynote address at CES 2024 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on January 9, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The National Retail Federation, the largest U.S. retail trade group, estimated in a recent study that Trump's proposed tariffs could cost American consumers between $46 billion and $78 billion. Annual spending power. However, Trump's incoming White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt previously told Fox Business that during Trump's first term, tariffs on China “created jobs, spurred investment and resulted in no inflation.”
Doug McMillan, chief executive officer of Walmart Inc., speaks during a press conference with then-President Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
McMillan and Trump previously collaborated during Trump's first term, when McMillan served as chairman of the Business Roundtable.
Trump's tariffs will raise consumer prices: National Retail Federation
| vaccine | safety | the end | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | Walmart Inc. | 91.78 | +0.99 |
+1.09% |
The Business Roundtable is an association of more than 200 CEOs from America's leading companies that support one in four American jobs and nearly a quarter of US GDP. Members are charged with developing and advocating policies that encourage continued economic growth and expanded opportunity for Americans.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillan, center, speaks at the White House in March 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said McMillan brings a unique perspective to the nonprofit because of Walmart's influence in the United States. United States of America
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McMillan “brings an important perspective to the policy debate around the future of work, innovation and America's competitiveness,” Bolten said.
During his tenure from 2020 to 2022, McMillan helped the business community manage the COVID-19 crisis.