Target CEO: Prices ‘Likely’ To Rise In Coming Days Due To Tariffs

Target CEO Brian Cornell said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China “will likely” lead to price increases at his company’s stores as soon as this week.

His remarks come after Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada went into effect on Tuesday, as did his 10% tariff on China, which was added to a levy imposed a month ago, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“The consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” while discussing consumer confidence. “Those are really short supply chains. You think about all the fresh produce. We depend on Mexico during the winter. We’re going to try to make sure we can do everything we can to protect pricing. But if there’s a 25% tariff, those prices will go up.”

He said that recent polls showing consumer confidence had taken a downward turn in recent weeks, partly because of concerns about tariffs.

“It’s just the state of the consumer,” he said. “And I think we’ve seen a cautious consumer for quite some time now. They’re shopping carefully. They’re making sure they’re stretching their budgets as carefully as they can.”

Cornell said that his team has prepared different scenarios to mitigate the increase in costs as much as possible and that they aim to be nimble to “react accordingly.”

He said some items that would increase in price include strawberries, avocados, bananas, and more.

Canada responded by imposing a 25% tariff on the U.S., China responded with tariffs, and Mexico signaled it would also retaliate with its own tariffs.