Treasury Secretary acknowledged that Walmart may hike up prices and pass along some of the tariff increases on to its customers |Nicholas Eckhart|CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday on CNN that tariffs may increase consumer prices.

He acknowledged that the largest US retailer, Walmart, may hike up prices and pass along some of the tariff increases on to its customers.

Bessent, however, also said that he spoke with the retailer’s CEO Doug McMillon a day after President Donald Trump blasted the company for price rises and urged it to “eat” the costs “just as they did in ’18, ’19 and ’20.”