Top CEOs from America’s largest retailers have spoken out to issue a shocking warning about President Donald Trump in an Oval Office meeting.
The group of three CEOs include executives from Walmart, Home Depot and Target, who attended a private meeting at the White House last month (April 21).
According to a report by Axios, they warned the president about the impact of his recent import tariffs, forewarning that it could lead to frozen supply chains, resulting in empty shelves.
Advert
The report claimed that an administration official familiar with the meeting said: “The big box CEOs flat out told him the prices aren’t going up, they’re steady right now, but they will go up.
“And this wasn’t about food. But he was told that shelves will be empty.”
Trump’s announcements of new import tariffs sent the stock market into a meltdown last month.
The president revealed that he would be putting fees onto goods being imported into the country from nearly every country on the planet.
Advert
Trump shared that he was doing this in order to promote a growth of jobs within the US.
However, after the US economy was thrown into jeopardy, Trump later announced that he would put a 90-day pause on the tariffs - apart from the harsh ones placed on China.
Although, it seems like Trump’s conversation with the CEOs from US retailing giants has given him a change of heart.
Following the discussion, the president shared that his 145% tariffs on China would ‘come down substantially’.
Advert
This is expected to have a knock-on effect, with many hoping that this will mean prices for goods won’t see a huge spike.
The White House made it clear that Trump had big plans for tariffs in the automotive industry, with the administration announcing a 25% tariff on imports of ‘automobiles and certain automobile parts’ back in late March.
However, the White House also shared that there is a specific way for manufacturers to make themselves exempt from these latest tariffs and it appears to benefit Tesla in particular.
In a fact sheet, the White House said: “President Donald J. Trump signed a proclamation to protect national security by incentivizing domestic automobile production and reducing American reliance on imports of foreign automobiles and their parts.”
Advert
The proclamation modifies the tariff action on automobiles and automobile parts by encouraging manufacturers to assemble their automobiles in the US, thereby reducing US reliance on foreign imports of automobiles and automobile parts.
If a car company produces a vehicle with 85% or more domestic content, it will be fully exempt from new tariffs on automobiles.
Only one company fits the bill for this... you guessed it, Tesla.
Advert
Three Tesla vehicles meet this very specific request - the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model Y Long range as well as the Model 3 Performance, according to Fuel ARC.
Ford’s Mustang GT AT, GT 5.0L and GT Coupe Premium aren't far behind with 80% domestic content, with Honda’s Passport AWD not far off either at 76.5%.
Some Tesla models don’t quite make the cut, with the Cybertruck having 82.5% domestic content, and the Model S and Model X only having 80%.