I Visited Costco to See How It’s Responding to Tariffs: Prices, Photos

Beginning June 30, Costco’s executive members will be able to shop an hour earlier than Gold Star members. I hope this exclusive access will mean shorter lines and a less crowded shopping experience first thing in the morning.

Trump announced 25% tariffs on both Mexico and Canada in February, months before the “Liberation Day” establishment of “reciprocal” tariffs on other countries in April. Agricultural products were not subject to the new tariffs per the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but the US will begin taxing Mexican tomatoes with a 21% duty beginning July 14, the Associated Press reported.

Despite being a product of Mexico with a Canadian distributor, a two-pound tomato medley from Sunset stayed the same price at $7.99.

Other products of Mexico and Canada on my shopping list, such as raspberries, cucumbers, and mashed avocado packets, also cost the same as they did in April.

I’d anticipated higher prices on produce at Costco as the CEOs of companies like Walmart and Target warned consumers of potential grocery price hikes due to tariffs.

Last time I shopped at Costco in April, I bought 3 pounds of purple grapes from Chile for $7.49. On this visit in June, Costco stocked a different brand of red grapes grown in the US that cost $7.99 for a 3-pound package.

In the third-quarter earnings call, Vachris said the company planned to buy more domestically made products as alternatives to increasingly expensive imported items.

With a domestic supplier, the grapes still slightly increased in price, which could be due to different production and labor costs at the new supplier.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on South Korea.

The box of 22 bars said that they were made in the US “with domestic and imported ingredients.” The price of the Kind bars decreased from $19.99 in April to $17.69 in June.

Costco’s US branch distributes the lemonade, but the label doesn’t say where it was produced or where its ingredients were sourced.

If the lemons used are not grown in the US, it’s possible that they’ve become more expensive to import due to tariffs. India, Mexico, and China are the top three lemon producers in the world, The Takeout reported, and were all hit with steep tariffs: 26% on India, 25% on Mexico, and 10% on China.

Costco didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Other juices on my shopping list, such as gallon-sized bottles of passion orange guava juice, cost the same as they did in April at $5.99 each.

Nature’s Path organic granola was on sale for $5.99 during my June shopping trip. I’d previously paid $8.99 in April.

The pumpkin seed and flax granola comes in 35.5-ounce bags. Nature’s Path’s website says that it “does not currently purchase any products internationally that would require ‘product of…’ labeling.”

In February, I bought a carton of 24 cage-free large eggs at Costco for $8.49. I was lucky to even get one — the supply ran out just minutes after the store opened due to shortages caused by avian flu.

Things have improved steadily since then as the bird flu outbreak has become better contained. When I shopped at Costco in April, a carton of 24 cage-free large eggs cost $7.69. In June, the price lowered to $5.79, with an overall decrease of around 32% since February.

Out of the 23 items on my grocery list I compared from April, only three became more expensive, and three decreased in price.

On the third-quarter earnings call, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip said that keeping prices low for members pays off despite squeezed profit margins. When prices eventually fall, he said, it allows the company to “feel the margin relief faster while also being able to lower prices more quickly than our competitors.”

I’m grateful Costco has largely kept its prices the same, choosing to lower profit margins instead of passing higher costs on to consumers.