Big Retail is Siding with the CCP and Undermining President Trump on America First Trade Agenda
President Trump’s first hundred days have provided a slew of accomplishments for conservatives. One of the President’s highest priorities during his new term has been to restore American national and economic security by addressing how large and persistent trade deficits have impacted domestic manufacturing, disrupted supply chains, and made us more reliant on foreign adversaries like China.
The president is also grappling with the threat of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that originate with Chinese-based chemical manufacturing companies before being smuggled into the United States to endanger American lives.
Despite the seriousness of these problems, one conspicuous domestic sector has been reluctant to get on board with President Trump’s trade agenda: American retailers.
Big Retail Has Been Critical of the President’s America First Trade Agenda
As President Trump unveiled his trade and tariff strategy to protect American manufacturing and stop the looming threat of the CCP, American retailers quickly and publicly lined up against his agenda.
The National Retail Federation, which is the world’s largest retail trade association, began disseminating talking points that undermine the president’s strategy, calling tariffs a tax that “ultimately gets passed on to consumers through higher prices” and urging the administration “to explore other tools.”
After President Trump was elected to a second term, Walmart’s chief financial officer warned that tariffs would force the store to increase prices and were “inflationary for customers.” Walmart heiress Christy Walton even placed a full-page ad in The New York Times criticizing the president’s foreign policy.
In December, Costco’s chief financial officer told investors that “of course, tariffs raise costs” and that they were “not something that we see as a positive in general.” He further opined that “when it rains, it rains on everybody.”
Best Buy’s CEO predicted that “price increases for American consumers [were] highly likely” due to tariffs and observed that he had “never seen this kind of breadth of tariffs.”
In March, Target’s CEO blamed tariffs for any price hikes, saying that customers “will likely see price increases over the next couple of days.” He also warned that the company was bracing for a weak quarter because tariffs would put “meaningful pressure” on its profits.
In February, Lowe’s chief financial officer stated during an earnings call that Lowe’s teams were already “activating against the tariffs.”
Retailers Are Still Reliant on China for Imports
President Trump has pointedly observed that lopsidedly unfair trade policies have made the country more reliant on foreign adversaries like China, and American retailers exemplify how that’s happened and why retailers have been critical of the president’s agenda. Walmart sources an estimated 20% of its goods from China. In a 10-K filing, Best Buy noted that its “complex supply chain is heavily reliant on vendor imports from China,” which the company estimates makes up 55% of the products it purchases. And Target relies on China for 30% of its owned brand merchandise production.
Retailers Are Expanding Their Footprint in China
Aside from relying on China for imports of goods, retailers are increasingly expanding their footprint in China has well, potentially underscoring their hostility to President Trump’s trade policies. Walmart, for example, enjoyed $17 billion in sales in China in 2024 through its 336 storefronts, including 283 Walmart Supercenters and 53 Sam’s Clubs. Costco currently operates seven warehouse locations in China, including two that opened in just the last fiscal year.
The President Is Making the Tough Choices Needed to Wean the U.S. Off From China
Although President Trump is taking incoming heat from American retailers who want to protect their China-reliant business model, he is taking a holistic view of the American economy and the danger of remaining so dependent on a foreign adversary like China and the CCP. In the long term, supporting “Made in America” manufacturing and disentangling our economic wellbeing from reliance on China and the CCP will better position the United States and U.S companies as well as make our supply chains more resilient. The success of President Trump’s America First trade agenda is our best chance at achieving that goal.