Walmart CEO Doug McMillon meets with Trump on trade relations, investing in US

EXCLUSIVE: Walmart CEO Doug McMillon met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday to discuss a range of topics, including investing in the U.S., trade relations and innovation. 

The nation’s largest private employer did not offer more details beyond that “it was a great conversation.” 

“We stand ready to help move our country forward,” a Walmart spokesperson told FOX Business.  

WALMART WARNS OF HIGHER PRICES IF TRUMP IMPLEMENTS PROPOSED TARIFFS

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The conversation occurred ahead of Trump being sworn in as the 47th president on Jan. 20. It also comes as a slew of business executives from companies including Walmart, Dollar Tree and Costco have raised alarms about the impact Trump’s proposed tariffs would have on inflation. 

Under Trump’s proposals, a universal 10% to 20% tariff would be imposed on imports from all foreign countries, and additional tariffs of 60% to 100% would be imposed on imports from China. Trump also said he would issue an executive order upon taking office to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. 

The National Retail Federation, the largest U.S. retail trade group, estimated in a recent study that Trump’s proposed tariffs could cost American consumers between $46 billion and $78 billion in spending power annually. However, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, previously told FOX Business that during Trump’s first term, the tariffs imposed on China “created jobs, spurred investment and resulted in no inflation.” 

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, left, speaks during a news conference with President Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 2020. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

McMillon and Trump previously collaborated during Trump’s first term, when McMillon served as chairman of the Business Roundtable. 

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TRUMP’S TARIFFS WOULD DRIVE UP CONSUMER PRICES: NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION

The Business Roundtable is an association of more than 200 chief executive officers of America’s leading companies that support one in four American jobs and almost a quarter of U.S. GDP. Members are tasked with developing and advocating for policies that spur continued economic growth and expanded opportunity for Americans.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., in March 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Joshua Bolten, the CEO of the Business Roundtable, said McMillon brought a unique perspective to the nonprofit, given Walmart’s influence in the U.S. The company reaches thousands of communities with more than 4,600 Walmart locations and 600 Sam’s Clubs, and employs about 1.6 million workers in the U.S. 

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McMillon “brings an important perspective to the policy debate around the future of work, innovation and America’s competitiveness,” Bolten said. 

During his term from 2020 to 2022, McMillon helped the business community manage the COVID-19 crisis.