Walmart Rises To Defend The Lamb

Walmart warned against tariffs on $1.6 billion in Australian lamb imports before a trade ruling due Friday. A rack of lamb has issued a short statement of thanks.

By Gus Ternberg, Supply Chain Correspondent BENTONVILLE, Ark. · Nov 8, 2026 · 2 min read

BENTONVILLE, Ark.—Walmart has warned the Trump administration against tariffs on $1.6 billion in annual Australian lamb imports, according to the Australian Financial Review, arguing in a submission ahead of a U.S. International Trade Commission ruling due Friday that trade barriers would punish consumers and disrupt supply chains. The lamb was not consulted. It was refrigerated.

Gus Ternberg measured the distance first. Sydney to Long Beach, roughly 7,500 miles. About 22 days by sea. Lamb does not complain about this. Lamb has a good attitude.

According to the AFR, Walmart disputed U.S. producers' claims of injury from imports and warned that barriers would impede Americans' small but growing taste for cutlets and racks. A fictional rack of lamb in a fictional Walmart meat case in Rogers, Ark., read the coverage on a shrink-wrapped tablet.

I want to thank the retailer for its support…

"I want to thank the retailer for its support," the rack said, in a statement provided through a fictional meat-department lead. "I would also like to note that I am small but growing. That is in writing now. My mother would be proud. She is also in this case."

Illustration of a vintage delivery truck with a pink stripe — Illustration: The Daily SKU

The ITC ruling could lead to tariffs or quotas. The meat case has prepared for both. A fictional inventory memo, Form LMB-11 (Contingency Planning, Ovine), instructs associates to "face the lamb forward and project confidence."

Ternberg rated the case wrap. Five passes, tight at the corners, a clean pull with no fog. A serious wrap. The lamb is in good hands.

"People think lamb is only for Easter," a fictional butcher named Del Rourke said, sharpening nothing in particular. "Lamb is for any day a customer feels brave. Walmart is saying customers should be allowed to feel brave at a reasonable price."

Not everyone agreed. A fictional spokesperson for a coalition of domestic ground beef, which is not party to the case, said it was "watching closely" and "available for any meal, any time, with or without tariffs."

Ternberg checked Container DSKU 401177-3 at 5:33 a.m. Day 943. In transit. He checked whether it might contain lamb. The tracking page does not say. It has never said. If it is lamb, it has been at sea since April 2024 and is, by now, mutton.

Gus Ternberg covers supply chain and is still tracking Container DSKU 401177-3. Status: in transit. More from Gus Ternberg ›