The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that U.S. President Donald Trump says big companies, particularly retailers such as Walmart and Amazon, are using tariffs as a convenient excuse to raise prices. The Globe's Gus Carlson writes that Mr. Trump's detractors say he picked this fight and that any knock-on effects of his tariff policy are self-inflicted. His supporters counter that tariffs are meant to encourage more U.S. manufacturing and more sourcing of materials and products domestically. Big retailers say that until U.S. manufacturing comes on-line at scale, they have no choice but to go offshore for goods to meet demand -- especially for companies such as Walmart, where price is everything. The gap between what Mr. Trump sees as a new era of homegrown prosperity and the current reality is a valley of death for consumers, especially those on tight budgets. Importers must pay the tariff, and the most obvious way to recoup the cost of this tax is to pass it along to consumers. Many economists suggest the effect of tariffs at the retail level will not really be felt until the summer or later in the second half of the year because most big retailers are still selling pretariff inventories.