Top CEOs issue stark warning about Donald Trump in Oval Office meeting

A trio of CEOs from some of America’s largest retailers issued a stark warning about Donald Trump’s economic agenda in an Oval Office meeting.

Executives from Walmart, Target and Home Depot attended a private meeting in the White House’s Oval Office on Monday (21 April) where, according to Axios, they are reported to have warned US president Trump that his actions could cause supply chains to freeze leading to empty shelves.

Earlier this month, Trump sent stock markets and the US economy into a frenzy with an announcement of large and sweeping tariffs to be placed on goods being imported into the US from nearly every country in the world, in an effort to encourage jobs and growth within the US.

Though Trump later announced a 90-day pause (barring China and a 10 per cent “base” tariff), there remains uncertainty about what is to come.

“The big box CEOs flat out told him the prices aren’t going up, they’re steady right now, but they will go up,” Axios reports an administration official familiar with the meeting said.

“And this wasn’t about food. But he was told that shelves will be empty.”

According to another official briefed on the meeting, the CEOs warned Trump that if he did not change tack, the ramifications in US stores could start to be felt in as little as two weeks’ time.

Following the meeting, Trump announced on Wednesday (23 April) that his tariffs on China would “come down substantially” from the previous rate of 145 per cent.

Trump also claimed had “no intention of firing” Jerome Powell, the head of the US Federal Reserve, despite repeated criticism of him. His comments resulted in the stock markets around the world to rise.

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