Best Buy, Target, warn of rising costs due to Trump tariffs and retaliation

Canada and Mexico on Tuesday said they plan to impose tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stating her tariffs will be announced on Sunday if no deal has been reached.

Published: March 4, 2025 8:25pm

Several companies on Tuesday, including Best Buy and Target, warned there will likely be increased prices soon on certain products because of the new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on Canada, China and Mexico, and those countries' retaliations.

Canada and Mexico on Tuesday said they plan to impose tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stating her tariffs will be announced on Sunday if no deal has been reached. 

Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters during the company's annual investors meeting that price increases on some produce will take effect in the coming days. But he did not state all the items that will see an increase. 

“I think things are unfolding so quickly,” he said, per The Hill. “We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think we’re going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we don’t want to overreact right now to one day and one headline."

Target's chief commercial officer Rick Gomez echoed the sentiment, stating that he could not provide specifics because they are still working out the increases and want to be "strategic."

“It’s not as simple as just flowing through cost,” Gomez said. “We have to think about this from a consumer perspective and make sure that our pricing architecture makes sense and puts us in a place where we have affordable options.”

The tariffs would have hit Target harder in 2017, when the company sourced 60% of its store-label products from China. But that number has now reduced to 30% and is expected to shrink further to 25% by the end of next year.

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry on Tuesday said that it was "highly likely" that U.S. consumers would see some sort of price increase if the tariffs do not go away quickly, emphasizing the importance of international trade on the electronics business.

“Trade is critically important to our business and industry. The consumer electronic supply chain is highly global, technical and complex,” Barry told reporters. “We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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