Trumps Tariffs on Mexico, Canada: What It Means for Buyers

President Donald Trump renewed his promise to slap tariffs on imports on his first day in office, saying in February he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico. He repeated some of those comments on Tuesday.

His push comes after many retailers worried that tariffs would increase their production or force them to reduce inventory. Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs also expressed concern that hiking tariffs on products would raise costs for everyday Americans.

The CEO of TJ Maxx said the company could benefit from Trump’s proposed tariffs

Trump argued last month that tariffs, when used properly, “make our country richer.”

In contrast, the head of the National Retail Federation (NRF) – the country’s largest trade group – has previously warned that consumers could face higher prices on many items if Trump buys. Tariff on imported products Applied to America. The trade group estimated that households could lose between $46 billion and $78 billion. Energy consumption every year.

On Monday, David French, NRF’s vice president of government relations, said the United States first “needs to review our trade relationships to ensure that those relationships are structured to achieve fair, balanced and effective outcomes for American workers and businesses.”

“Tariffs are taxes paid by Americans, and any new tariff increases should be deployed strategically and effectively only on the most strategic items,” French said. “Conducting a strategic assessment of business priorities is an important first step.”

The trade group said it “looks forward to working with the president to create an environment where the resulting policy changes are carefully targeted and will attract investment and protect critical industries.”

Trump Tariffs Will Raise Consumer Prices: National Retail Federation

US companies warning about tariffs

Costco

During an earnings call in December, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip warned that Trump’s proposed tariffs would increase costs for consumers.

Overall, he told analysts, “Tariffs will increase prices so that’s not something we see as positive.”

“When it rains, it rains on everyone,” he said.

Ticker	Security	last one	Change	change %
Cost	Costco Wholesale Corp	947.73	+4.54	+ 0.48%

The company is going to try and work with its suppliers to “make sure we’re looking for ways to bring down the cost,” he said.

Dollar tree

Dollar tree It has warned that if tariffs are implemented – with high exposure to China – the company will have to change product specifications or sizes and remove more expensive items altogether.

Ticker	Security	last one	Change	change %
DLTR	DOLLAR TREE INC.	73.76	+1.69	+2.34%

In December, the discount retailer told analysts that it may take further steps to cut prices, including changing product specifications or sizes and removing more expensive items altogether.

The last time the Dollar Tree retailer faced this issue, it adjusted its products in 2018 and 2019 and negotiated lower costs with suppliers.

“Those options are still in our hands,” Interim CEO Michael Creedon told analysts on a Dec. 4 earnings call. “In addition, we now have detailed plans to shift supply sources for most of our products to alternate countries, and multi-price will give us more flexibility in product assortment.”

Home Depot

“Anything that happens on tariffs will have an industry-wide impact. It doesn’t discriminate against different retailers and distributors that import goods. It’s an industry-wide product type. From the same countries.”

Ticker	Security	last one	Change	change %
HD	HOME DEPOT INC.	418.43	+9.05	+2.21%

Lowe’s

Lowe’s Chief Financial Officer Brandon Sink told analysts on an earnings call in November that 40 percent of its sales come from outside the US, “which includes both direct imports and national brands through our supplier partners.”

“And looking at the potential impact,[it]will certainly increase production costs, but the timing and details are uncertain at this point,” Sink said.

Ticker	Security	last one	Change	change %
Low	Lowe’s Companies Inc.	264.26	+3.21	+ 1.23%

Walmart

Walmart’s chief financial officer John David Rainey warned that Trump’s proposed tariffs would cost consumers dearly.

Ticker	Security	last one	Change	change %
Wmt	WALMART INC.	93.08	+1.14	+ 1.24%

In an interview with Liz Claman on “The Claman Countdown,” Rennie said, “Tariffs are going to be inflationary. There’s no debate.”

Two-thirds of the goods the company sells are manufactured, grown or assembled in the U.S., but “it’s not immune to that in any way,” Rainey said.

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A Walmart spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business that the company is still feeling the effects of inflation and is concerned that a significant rate increase could cost our customers.

It is not just the retail industry that has raised concerns. For example, Stellants’ chief financial officer has hinted that he may move production to the US in the event of tariffs.