Overview

• President Trump’s expanded import duties on Chinese and Indian goods took effect on August 1, prompting immediate price markups at major retailers.
• In her viral Instagram video, Mercedes Chandler highlights Walmart staff covering original price tags and replacing them with stickers charging up to $8 more per item.
• Employees at chains including Walmart and Target report removing perforated tag sections that reveal pre-tariff prices to mask earlier labels.
• Consumer outcry on social media underscores frustration that tariffs intended to protect U.S. jobs are instead inflating costs for American families.
• Economists warn the levies risk broader inflation and supply-chain disruptions, leading companies to diversify sourcing and stockpile imports.