Walmart has announced that it will spend an additional $350 billion on items made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. and estimates that the investment will support more than 750,000 new American jobs. According to Walmart, it will focus on six priority categories: plastics; textiles; small electrical appliances; food processing; pharmaceutical and medical supplies; and Goods Not For Resale.
Walmart says its commitment will mean a few more impacts, including an estimated 100 million metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided by sourcing closer to its customers, and an increase in spending and support for small businesses and diverse suppliers and sellers who are based here in the United States. It will also provide the opportunity for 9,000 entrepreneurs to become Walmart suppliers and sellers through their annual Open Call events, which will be held virtually on June 30.
U.S. manufacturing really matters, Walmart shared in its blog. It said that more than 85% of its customers have said it’s important for Walmart to carry products made or assembled in the U.S., and most of all, because of the jobs it brings, it matters to American communities and the people who live in them.