Bloomberg reports that Walmart is requesting that its cosmetics suppliers “consider sourcing their goods in countries outside of China,” a move that reflects a desire on the retailer’s part to “dilute the impact of the Trump administration’s looming tariffs.”
According to the story, “A ‘large amount’ of items in the cosmetics category fall under the most-recent proposed levies on Chinese goods, according to an Aug. 7 email sent from Walmart’s procurement division to some of its cosmetics suppliers. The list of Chinese goods that could get hit with additional tariffs includes lipstick, eye makeup, powders, shampoo and other haircare products. The missive asks suppliers if they have facilities outside of China, and if not, whether they would consider investing in some to broaden their sourcing ability.”
Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said last week that the impact of the Trump tariffs “is difficult to quantify,” though he also conceded that Trump’s “foreign trade policies could hurt its results,” and that the company is “monitoring the tariff discussions” and “actively working on mitigation strategies.”
According to the story, “A ‘large amount’ of items in the cosmetics category fall under the most-recent proposed levies on Chinese goods, according to an Aug. 7 email sent from Walmart’s procurement division to some of its cosmetics suppliers. The list of Chinese goods that could get hit with additional tariffs includes lipstick, eye makeup, powders, shampoo and other haircare products. The missive asks suppliers if they have facilities outside of China, and if not, whether they would consider investing in some to broaden their sourcing ability.”
Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said last week that the impact of the Trump tariffs “is difficult to quantify,” though he also conceded that Trump’s “foreign trade policies could hurt its results,” and that the company is “monitoring the tariff discussions” and “actively working on mitigation strategies.”
- KC's View:
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Walmart is just one of many companies that will be hit by the tariffs. I’m no economist, but I’ve yet to be persuaded that the tariff policy makes a lot of economic sense, and I suspect as time goes on we’re going to hear a lot more cries of pain from companies and consumers.
