Executives from three of America’s biggest retail chains warned President Donald Trump that things could get ugly if his aggressive economic agenda proceeds as planned, according to a new report from Axios.
During a private meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot reportedly told the president that supply chains could freeze and prompt stores’ shelves to go barren if he doesn’t rein in his sharp tariff plans, and meddles with the Federal Reserve.
“The big box CEOs flat out told him the prices aren’t going up, they’re steady right now, but they will go up,” an administration official familiar with the meeting told Axios. “And this wasn’t about food. But he was told that shelves will be empty.”
According to a separate official briefed on the meeting, Trump was told that if he doesn’t change course, the impact could be noticeable in as little as two weeks.
The CEOs words seemed to have some sway on the president.
The following day, Trump told reporters that tariffs on China will “come down substantially” from his previously announced 145% rate.