Walmart says it will raise prices if tariffs increase

AP

Walmart could become more expensive.

• Walmart's CFO told Bloomberg Thursday that prices at the store will increase if more tariffs are imposed.
• The US-China trade war reached new levels over the past week after both sides imposed fresh tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods. Now, Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.
• "We will do everything we can to keep prices low but increased tariffs lead to increased prices," CFO Brett Biggs said.
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Walmart customers beware, prices could be on the rise.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday morning, Walmart's CFO said that the company will raise prices if new tariffs come into play.

"We will do everything we can to keep prices low but increased tariffs lead to increased prices," CFO Brett Biggs said. "It's very item and category specific. There are some places where as we get tariffs, we will take prices up."

The US-China trade war escalated this past week after both sides imposed fresh tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods. Now, the Trump administration is threatening to impose tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, which include everything from phones to clothing and furniture and would put Walmart directly in the firing line.

Read more: Beijing calls for a 'people's war' against the US as Trump threatens tariffs against another $300 billion of Chinese goods in all-out trade battle

This isn't the first time Walmart has spoken out against tariffs. Last October, it sent a letter to the US Trade Representative, urging it to reconsider tariffs imposed on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and warned that these tariffs would likely result in it having to raise prices for the consumer.

"As the largest retailer in the United States and a major buyer of U.S. manufactured goods, we are very concerned about the impacts these tariffs would have on our business, our customers, our suppliers and the U.S. economy as a whole," Walmart wrote, according to Reuters.