If supermarket and hardware store shelves are empty in the near future, President Donald Trump can’t say he wasn’t warned.
According to a report in Axios, the CEOs of three of the nation’s largest retailers — Walmart (WMT+2.60%), Target (TGT+1.68%), and Home Depot (HD+0.94%) — privately told Trump in a meeting that his tariff and trade policy could disrupt supply chains, raise prices, and empty shelves.
“The big box CEOs flat out told [Trump] the prices aren’t going up, they’re steady right now, but they will go up. And this wasn’t about food, but he was told that shelves will be empty,” an administration official familiar with the meeting told Axios.
Ironically, while Home Depot’s current CEO, Ed Decker, warned the president about the impact of his tariffs, Decker’s predecessor, Bob Nardelli, cheered them on in an interview with Fox Business News (FOXA+1.90%).
“We’ll have to make some sacrifices, but if [Trump] pulls this off, this is really one of the most pervasive and probably positive initiatives this administration could do for us long term,” Nardelli said.
“The number of components and products that come into Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s (LOW+1.72%) is an overwhelming number, and it’s gonna take a while to reverse something that’s been on this globalization for maybe two decades or more,” he added.
Meanwhile, the same day the Walmart, Target, and Home Depot CEOs met with Trump, the president began softening his tone on tariffs, saying he wants a “fair deal” with China.
The president told reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t want to play “hardball” with Beijing and that the 145% tariffs he’s slapped on China will eventually “come down substantially.”
This back-and-forth comes against a backdrop where Trump has seen his approval sag on his economic strategy. More of the U.S. public now disapproves of his handling of the economy than approves, the first time he has been underwater on that issue.
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