People aren’t buying U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s assertion that the Trump administration’s tariffs cause no financial pain.
During a live interview with Axios’s Mike Allen at the Building the Future event in Washington this week, Lutnick claimed that no one is feeling any pain right now from the tariffs.
“You go to the store now, are you feeling the pain of tariffs? No! Why not? Because there is no pain,” Lutnick said.
He then asked the crowd if they felt any pain because of the tariffs.
“Yes!” some audience members fired back as silence fell throughout the room.
Trump has been a longtime supporter of tariffs, believing they would help increase tax revenue, boost the growth of the U.S. economy, and increase manufacturing jobs throughout the country.
“The most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff,” Trump told the Economic Club of Chicago in 2024. “It’s my favorite word.”
On April 2, Trump announced he was slapping more than 100 countries worldwide with the trade levies.
In the weeks following that announcement, however, Trump and his administration have walked back and cut tariffs.
This month, the administration announced it would cut its tariffs imposed on China from 145% to 30% for a temporary period, according to the New York Times.
China, in response, would lower its import duty on American goods from 125% to 10%, the New York Times reported.
During the Axios interview, Lutnick told the crowd that Trump felt “horrible” about the impacts of the China tariffs but said they were necessary.
“You can’t fix things in a day,” Lutnick said. “But I would expect that prices in America would be unaffected.”
Lutnick’s claim about prices runs counter to corporations that have warned they will have to raise prices because of the tariffs.
Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC in an interview that Trump’s tariffs are still too high and that price hikes are likely to happen towards the end of the month.
“I’m concerned that [the] consumer is going to start seeing higher prices,” Rainey said. “You’ll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June.”
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in an earnings call on Thursday that tariffs on China are raising the costs of electronics and toys, according to CNN.
He added that some food costs are also going up because of tariffs on Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” McMillon said. “Even at the reduced levels, the higher tariffs will result in higher prices.”
In response to these comments, Trump wrote on Truth Social, telling Walmart to “EAT THE TARIFFS,” saying that the company should not blame tariffs for rising prices.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected.”
Trump is continuing to threaten tariffs on companies and nations. On Friday, the president threatened Apple with a 25% tariff unless it starts making iPhones in the United States.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump wrote Friday morning on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
Trump also recommended on Friday a 50% tariff on the European Union that would go into effect on June 1, citing stalled talks between the U.S. and the EU as the reason for the tariffs.
” Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States.”
