Walmart feels the heat in China after Trump imposes tariffs

Source: CNN Business

Updated 6:33 AM EDT, Thu March 13, 2025


Hong Kong CNN — Walmart is getting caught in the middle of an escalating trade war between the United States and China. Chinese officials confirmed on Thursday they had met with executives from the US retail giant, following a news report that it had pressured its suppliers in China for discounts to cope with rising tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

“Our relevant departments have reached out to Walmart to further understand the situation, and the company has provided an explanation,” He Yongqian, a spokesperson for the Commerce Ministry, told a regular press briefing. She did not provide further detail. Trump doubled tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20% as of last week. In response, China has announced a fresh round of retaliatory tariffs, covering US agriculture imports, which took effect Monday.

Many businesses are struggling under Trump’s chaotic tariff announcements, which have escalated trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Retailers have told CNN that they may have to raise prices at a time when many customers are already feeling financial pressure and the pinch of inflation.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Walmart was trying to find a solution to its tariff woes by asking some of its Chinese vendors for significant price cuts of as much as 10% to offset the impact of US levies. On Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV’s official social media account, Yuyuantantian, wrote in a post that Chinese authorities had summoned Walmart for a meeting on Tuesday. “Walmart’s demand for Chinese suppliers to bear the full tariff burden is unreasonable and disrupts fair competition and international trade order,” the post said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/business/walmart-china-investigation-us-tariffs-intl-hnk/index.html