Walmart’s Price Cuts: Can Chinese Suppliers Bear Trump’s Tariffs?

Since Trump came to power, he’s been swinging the tariff stick like crazy, raising taxes on China twice — already adding up to 20%.
This extra tariff? Either American consumers pay, Chinese factories pay, or both split the bill.

According to Reuters and other media, American retail giant Walmart already told Chinese suppliers to cut prices by 20%.
Basically, Walmart wants Chinese suppliers to pay for the whole tariff bill.
What a “brilliant” idea — thinking only about Americans, not caring if others live or die.

So, what’s Walmart’s buying situation in China? How bad will this hit Chinese suppliers?

1. China’s purchase volume about 25% of Walmart’s global buying
A 2021 Southern Weekly report said Walmart buys around $100 billion of goods from China every year. Foreign media estimated Walmart’s global purchase volume in 2020 was about $400 billion.
So, China’s goods make up roughly 25% of their total global sourcing.

2. Over 100,000 Chinese suppliers

• Direct suppliers:
  Walmart works with over 100,000 direct suppliers in China (based on recent estimates). These cover food, daily stuff, clothes, electronics — you name it. The suppliers include small local businesses, regional giants, and even international brands.
• Indirect supply chain:
  Through multi-layer distribution networks, Walmart’s supply chain stretches to millions of smaller suppliers (like raw material factories, manufacturers), mostly in manufacturing hotspots like Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu.

3. 70%–80% of Walmart’s products are “Made in China”
China is the world’s factory, so about 70%–80% of Walmart’s goods come from local Chinese suppliers. They talk about “localized supply chains” to save costs and react fast to market needs.
In reality? Walmart is just a middleman, squeezing Chinese suppliers on one end and draining American consumers on the other.

Now, Walmart’s price-cut demand is basically another squeeze. But honestly, many suppliers are already hanging by a thread — some profits are less than 2%. Asking for bigger price cuts would just mean straight-up losing money.
For some suppliers, this is a no-win situation: lower prices and lose money, or refuse and lose orders — still lose money.

Even Walmart might not win all the way. If they ditch Chinese suppliers, they might face shrinking profits or even empty shelves.
This is the truth of a tariff war — nobody wins.

In the long run, the whole supply chain might flip upside down. So, in this stressful trade war, how to source products from China?
I’m a Chinese sourcing agent, running a factory platform with hundreds of real factories offering all kinds of OEM/ODM services. Wanna know more? Check out: www.chinaoemodm.com or hit me up to find the perfect Chinese supplier.