Scott Bessent got himself into a tangle by admitting businesses are feeling the impacts of Donald Trump’s trade war.
“Walmart is, in fact, going to, as you describe it, eat some of the tariffs,” the Treasury secretary said during a sitdown with NBC’s Meet the Press, acknowledging that the supermarket giant is facing higher costs as a result of Trump‘s new economic measures.
The Treasury Secretary had previously insisted that consumers would not face higher prices as a result of Trump‘s new measures.
“China will pay for the tariffs because their business model is exporting their way out of this inflation,” Bessent told CNBC back in March. “They will eat any tariffs that go on.”
Pushed on that point, he insisted that the Federal Reserve bank isn’t convinced that tariffs will drive prices up in the future, as economists have suggested.
“The Federal Reserve is not saying tariffs will cause inflation; they’re saying they’re not sure, and that they’re in wait-and-see mode,” he said.
His latest comments come after Walmart announced earlier this week that it would raise prices because of the tariffs to accommodate higher supply costs amid the White House’s ongoing trade war.
President Trump lashed out against Walmart over the news.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday. “Between Walmart and China, they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
Trump‘s latest outburst has prompted derision even from members of his own party, including former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh, who described the president as a “crybaby” and his Truth Social post as a “weak loser thing to do” during a Saturday MSNBC appearance.
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