Trump chalks up tariff victory as Walmart announces new program to help small businesses and local entrepreneurs

Walmart announced a new program to help small businesses in the U.S. in a victory for the tariff policies of President Donald Trump.

The retail giant said its "Grow with US" program would help businesses in the U.S. "navigate the complexities of retail and bring their products to a national stage."

Walmart will take applications from small businesses for the 'Open Call' program to help US businesses submit their products.

"We've seen firsthand how investing in small businesses results in better assortment, better meeting the needs of our customer base, and supporting jobs and growth in communities," John Furner, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said to Axios.

Walmart will take applications from small businesses for the "Open Call" program to help U.S. businesses submit their products to the retail giant and Sam's Club. Events for the program will be held in Kansas City, Baltimore, Atlanta, Austin, and Columbus. They have a similar program in Mexico as well as India.

John David Rainey, the company's CFO, had previously indicated that more than two-thirds of the products they sold were "made, grown or assembled" in the U.S.

"The third that we import comes from all over the world, but China and Mexico are the most significant," he added.

In 2021, Walmart announced a plan to spend an additional $350 million on products made, assembled, or grown in the U.S., which would help create about 750,000 jobs, according to the company's estimate.

Walmart also resumed importing Chinese products after a pause despite the massive tariff after meeting with Trump last week, according to CNN. Factory owners in China told CNN that the orders had resumed from Walmart as well as Target.

“In two months, the shelves in the U.S. will probably be empty,” said Allen Yan, who runs factories in Zhejiang.

“American supermarkets don’t have much inventory left, and we’re also waiting to see how the situation develops. Our toys are low value-added products — if tariffs drop to around 30%, it will be easier for our customers to accept,” said another factory owner.

The stock market reacted negatively to the tariffs, with a loss of more than $10 trillion at one point, but some of that has recovered after Trump announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs, even as he escalated the trade war against China.

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