Costco boss warns of potential price hikes due to Trump tariffs

The recent trend of tariffs could have a silver lining.
Removing dirt-cheap goods from the market will make it more difficult to ignore the underlying problem: People are not being paid enough for their labor to afford the things they need at home. Instead, they are expected to depend on subsidized/sketchy foreign manufacturing, while corporations and the super-rich are being allowed to extract a disproportionate share of the world’s wealth from everyone else, hoard it, buy favorable legislation and policies, and avoid paying their fair share in taxes.
This is already unsustainable. I suspect tariffs will make it more obvious.
I hope it will lead to positive and long-overdue changes. Unfortunately, I think it’s likely to make things worse for a great many people before it makes things better.
- I could agree with this if there was a movement to produce domestically, then tariff imports. What I'm seeing is a tariff in an effort to drive domestic production and I just don't see that environment being a good investment without significant government subsidies.
  The US wanted more Silicon foundries so they're dolling out big bucks to make it happen, once you're producing domestically, you tariff similar imports to drive sales of local goods.
  I mean, I'm not an expert in macroeconomics by any means, so it's possible that I'm way off and the tariffs of cheap imports will start to drive multinational conglomerates to take a hit on cash flow and invest in domestic production. That's a big leap of faith to take when you have a hungry nation though.
  
  I have talked to people who think companies get the extra tariff money and that’s what they’ll use to build manufacturing locally. I really don’t get how lazy people are. They just accept whatever propaganda they’re fed.
- I dont see how tariffs are going to remove cheap goods. Its just going to raise the price floor.
  
  They used cheap to mean inexpensive and you're using it to mean low quality. The price floor is by definition the most inexpensive items.
- I agree. It could bring about positive changes, but slowly, and it will be much worse at first. Of course Trump and co-conspirators will manage to blame the problems on Democrats somehow.
- So Accelerationism, basically.
- essentially none of us make enough to pay us to do something. wealth is so unequal only the rich can afford american labor.

Omfg, it finally dawned on me. The reason the stocks when up when Trump got elected. These fucking ghouls really see any excuse to increase prices as a win. Jesus fucking christ... There's no stop until enough people will literally drop dead.
- That and it'll only take a couple million in bribes to get rid of any regulation they want.

Is this the straw that will break the back of the $1.50 hot dog and drink???
- Do you think he'll keep his promise about someone raising that price?
  
  Are we about to see another CEO get got?
- Probably not. Costco makes its own hot dogs in California, so they shouldn't be directly impacted by tariffs. Plus, the CEO is extremely averse to raising hot dog prices because they bring people in the door and make the company popular.

All these shitheels knew about it before the election, yet chose not to mention it.
Do these leeches even think about what's gonna happen when the blood of the economy runs dry because of their greed?
- Anyone with a fucking brain in their head knew this would be the effect. It was said multiple times by many people but ignored by idiots generally.
  
  Yeah, but it would've been better for these people to not say anything. Now they just look like shitheels (not that they care)
- Not that I’m defending them, however, they do not have an obligation to educate the American electorate. Trust me, I understand the outrage, however, in this case I think it’s misplaced. It’s not entirely the fault of Walmart and Costco CEO’s that everything is built from the ground up to be against the average person. In this specific case, especially when it comes to politics, I point to the absolute failure of the American education system to have massive amounts of the voting populous’ understanding of how the US government functions end in the 6th grade.
  Now we can go back and fourth on the causes of the lack of education. In which, there’s still blame to put on CEO’s, but it’s a feature, not a bug that it is the way it is.
  
  You're not wrong. There are a lot of factors in play. But I don't think the outrage is misplaced. In fact, I think I'm being pretty calm considering that the only reason why these corporate monsters chose to be silent until now is because they want to raise prices while pointing the finger at someone else. They know that if they raise prices "because they had to", they likely won't have to lower them again even if the tariffs go away.
- No
  
  They're probably starting to. Thanks, Luigi!
- I'll get mine and I'll be fine!
  motto of the American
  Most of the people I talk to care about the downtrodden and homeless, but if they, themselves are prepared... It's what are ya gonna do.... Sigh.....
  They don't really care, none of them would ever step foot in a soup kitchen, give anyone $5. It's in the moment, saving face or not at all.
  
  Americans actually have a history of being pretty generous when it comes to giving to charity. It's just the right wingers who are complete ghouls.
- I recommend you read up on the Tragedy Of The Commons, it will make you realize how it feels to be a blade of grass.

Born too late to explore the seas.
Born too early to explore the stars.
Born just in time to see the price of a Costco hotdog go up.
- Born just in time to see the price of a Costco hotdog go up.
  Truly the beginning of the apocalypse.
- The hot dogs should be fine, actually. They're made in California and the CEO is extremely averse to raising their prices.
  
  There's a lot more to supply chains than that. If there's overall inflation in the economy or the processing costs could go up as chinese steel is tariffed etc. There's far too many variables.

Potential? They are soft balling. They know damn well it's gonna be a shit show.
- It's not like manufacturing is going to come back to US.
  Plus they want to get rid of all the cheap illegal labor, so no it's not gonna come back.
  
  Why do you think they want to force women to have children and to decimate child labor laws?

Just another excuse to wildly raise prices, probably far above the rate of the tariff increase.
Perhaps, instead of passing the full brunt of the costs onto the customers, maybe the executives and shareholders take home less profit? Maybe take a financial hit to easy the cost of living burden on the commoners?
Or maybe starve the people out, and see how many people start playing Luigi's Mansion.
Other commenters are saying this is a good thing, and that this will eventually make thinga better, but lots of people will suffer in the interim, and somehow find this line of thinking acceptable. The oligarchs could ease the plight of the commoners now, they could simply take less profit so families don't have to, they could pass laws now, but they don't.
They could just have easily said, "A Costco executive warned shareholders that potential loss in profits could be a result of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs."
The other commenters are correct, however, many more will suffer. This is all only going to get worse for us.
- Costco's whole thing is that they have a flat markup on all their goods. It's static - price goes down for them, they lower their retail.
  They also pay a reasonable wage - my buddy works there and is clearing 31.50/hr + voluntary OT + 6k bonus/yr. Regularly makes 80k a year, just floor staff not management/supervisor.
  And they pay their upstream and logistics providers 2-3x market rates as well- my girlfriend works for a major trucking company doing pricing and Costco voluntarily overpays for their lanes so they have more reliable deliveries.
  Many many companies price-gouge and underpay their employees or steal wages. Costco doesn't. Fuck Walmart, Safeway, Amazon, etc.
  
  I appreciate you taking the time to reply, and I'm glad not every company is as bad as they possibly could be, but this is going to be a trend.
  Be it inflation, or supply line issues, or sanctions, they drum up an excuse to raise prices, and they won't come back down. Based on what you're saying, maybe Costco will come back down, but gas and groceries in other stores will be more hesitant.
  I bet even Netflix will use tariffs as an excuse to raise prices somehow. We need collective action, a general strike.
- Perhaps, instead of passing the full brunt of the costs onto the customers, maybe the executives and shareholders take home less profit? Maybe take a financial hit to easy the cost of living burden on the commoners?
  The shareholders demand consistent returns, and the executives have a fiduciary duty to ensure that happens. In other words:
  
  I'm well aware of their roles in this, and the improbability of anything changing. Unrelated, I would ask for a blue dragon for their lightning breath.

People going to be pissed when they can't buy 3 gallons of mayonnaise for $5.

He might have to rethink the word "potential". I am not sure he knows what it means.
- He's not trying to go to war with Trump, I'd wager. Just trying to insulate the company from bad press when prices inevitably go up. I'm sure they are also trying to gently encourage the electorate to contact their representatives to avoid the problem altogether.
  Either way Costco is going to be ok, and he probably won't be as likely to get the Luigi treatment.

Yes, we know. Goods that are made in America by Americans are expensive. And if they mean that they're going to be affected by the import tariffs, then I'll be just as happy not to buy as much from Costco, just the same as I'll be doing at Wal-Mart, Target, or any other stores that refuse to support quality American businesses in favor of cheap foreign stuff.