Exclusive: Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart He met with President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a range of issues, including investment in the US, trade relations and innovation.
The nation’s largest private employer offered no further details beyond that “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 came ahead of Trump’s swearing in as the 47th president on January 20. It also comes as a host of business executives at companies including Walmart, Dollar Tree and Costco have raised alarms about the impact Trump’s proposed tariffs would have on inflation.
Under Trump’s proposalsa universal tariff of 10% to 20% would be imposed on imports from all foreign countries and additional tariffs of 60% to 100% would be imposed on imports from China. Trump also said he will issue an executive order upon taking office to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the US.
The National Retail Federation, America’s largest retail trade group, estimated in a recent study that Trump’s proposed tariffs could cost American consumers between $46 billion and $78 billion in purchasing power annually. However, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, previously told FOX Business that during Trump’s first term, the tariffs imposed on China “created jobs, spurred investment and didn’t they caused inflation.”
McMillon and Trump previously collaborated during Trump’s first term, when McMillon served as chairman of the Business Roundtable.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS WOULD RAISE CONSUMER PRICES: NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION
Ticker | security | last | to change | % change |
---|---|---|---|---|
WMT | WALMART INC. | 91.78 | +0.99 |
+1.09% |
The Business Roundtable is an association of more than 200 CEOs of 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 for policies that stimulate continued economic growth and expanded opportunity for Americans.
Joshua Bolten, CEO of the Business Roundtable, said McMillon brought a unique perspective to the nonprofit, given Walmart’s influence in the US. The company reaches thousands of communities with more than 4,600 Walmart locations and 600 Sam’s Clubs, and employs approximately 1.6 million workers in the U.S.
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McMillon “brings an important perspective to the policy debate about the future of America’s jobs, innovation and competitiveness,” Bolten said.
During his 2020-2022 tenure, McMillon helped the business community manage the COVID-19 crisis.