Dem
47
GOP
53
We have several other stories to write about, but this posting is already pretty long, and the first item was pretty soul-crushing, so we're going to hold those until tomorrow.
However, we did have an item yesterday about Walmart, and how Donald Trump's demand that the company "eat" the tariffs is absurd. Reader M.M. in Bloomington, IL, wrote in with some numbers that put a finer point on that, and we thought it would be good to share as a follow-up. So, take it away, M.M.:
What if Walmart "ate" the 30% Trump tariff on goods produced in China? Some numbers about the Walmart business, publicly available:This suggests:
- $463 billion: Walmart's average Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a year
- 60%: The percentage of Walmart's COGS that are produced in China in a year
And finally:
- $277.8 billion: the total estimated cost to Walmart for Chinese imports (now subject to a 30% Trump tariff)
- $83.34 billion: Additional new COGS attributed to the tariff, to be paid by the importer of record as it is received into the U.S. This is the potential gross ADDED cost to receive Chinese-produced goods into the U.S. that the President is asking Walmart (and its suppliers) to "eat."
- $16.3 billion: Walmart's net income in 2024.
- $67 billion: LOSS to Walmart if it were to eat/absorb the full cost of the 30% tariff (and don't forget that, for some period of time, there was a 145% tariff).
Published market information suggests that Walmart represents 7.3% of all U.S. retail sales in a year (21% of grocery items). Walmart, of course, is not the only retailer that sells goods produced in China. It's safe to assume that Walmart's import statistics are not that terribly different from every retailer in the US that offers similar products.
- 4,600: Number of Walmart stores in the U.S.
- 1.6 million: Number of people employed by Walmart in the U.S. (it is the largest private employer in the country)
Thanks, M.M.!
This underscores that if Trump sticks with his trade war, he's going to have a real "Walmart problem," for lack of a better term. The tariffs are going to hit people in the wallets, particularly his supporters, and they are going to know exactly who is responsible. Not great for someone who campaigned on bringing down the cost of eggs. (Z)