Kevin O'Leary Pushes Back On Trump's Call For Retailers To 'Eat The Tariffs': 'That's Not Going To Happen' — Warns Of Shared Pain As Walmart Raises Prices - Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary rejected President Donald Trump’s suggestion that retailers should absorb the costs of tariffs rather than passing them onto consumers, highlighting growing tensions between the administration and major retailers over trade policy implementation.

What Happened: O’Leary directly challenged Trump’s demand that retailers like Walmart should bear the financial burden of tariffs. “This idea that the president says, ‘Listen, retailers, eat the tariffs.’ That’s not going to happen,” O’Leary said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”

The investor predicted that the cost increases would be shared between consumers and retailers, though he noted the uncertainty around specific tariff rates pending future negotiations. “There’s going to be some distribution of the pain between increased prices, and retailers will take some of the hit, but it really depends what the hit is,” he continued. “We don’t know. Is it 10%? 20%? 25%? What is it? Nobody knows.”

O’Leary characterized the situation as “jawboning between the retailer and Trump,” suggesting that “we’re at the beginning of a negotiation.”

Why It Matters: The comments came after Walmart Inc. WMT announced plans to raise prices on imported goods, prompting Trump to respond on Truth Social: “Walmart should stop trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made billions of dollars last year, far more than expected.” Trump added, “Between Walmart and China, they should, as is said, ‘eat the tariffs,’ and not charge valued customers anything.”

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The clash represents a significant shift in O’Leary’s stance, as he previously advocated for even more aggressive trade actions against China. In April, O’Leary demanded a 400% tariff on Chinese imports during a CNN appearance, saying, “Let’s just level the playing field. The [Chinese] government cheats, steals, robs, and does not play by any rules. I don’t think 125% is enough—400%!”

Economic indicators suggest mounting costs from the trade conflict. According to a Yale Budget Lab study tariffs implemented in 2025 have already led to a 2.3% spike in consumer prices—amounting to an average $3,800 loss per household. Additionally, U.S. GDP shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter.

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