With U.S. tariff rates now at their highest levels since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inauguration, executives from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s met with President Donald Trump on Monday to seek relief from sweeping trade duties that have disrupted global supply chains that could soon spark turmoil for US consumers.
“We had a productive meeting with President Trump and our retail peers to discuss the path forward on trade, and we remain committed to delivering value for American consumers,” a Target spokesman told Bloomberg in an emailed statement.
Spokeswomen from Walmart and Home Depot called the meeting at the White House productive and looked forward to continuing constructive dialogue to resolve the deepening trade war. Bloomberg noted that Lowe’s did not respond for comment.
Trump’s blanket tariffs have raised the average US tariff rate on goods entering US ports of entry to the highest level since March 1933, a time when Franklin D. Roosevelt was being sworn in as president and the Great Depression and Dust Bowl roiled the economy.
Goldman analysts have pointed out the most tariff-exposed (mainly Chinese exposed with a tariff rate of 145%) hardline and softline companies under their coverage, including conversations with investor relations and management teams about tariff impacts:
Last week, China laid out a set of preconditions for resuming trade talks with President Trump and his administration, including a demand for respect, a unified approach by US officials, and a point person for trade talks.
Trump’s threats against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to begin this week outline tariff anxiety and potential impacts on the US consumer and world trade as the economic superpowers so far struggle to strike a trade deal.
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