Walmart pledges help for US manufacturers Walmart has pledged to source an additional $50bn of products from the US over the next 10 years to boost domestic manufacturers as its US chief complained about political paralysis in Washington. Bill Simon, chief of executive of Walmart US, said rising labour costs in Asia and the volatility of the oil price and transportation costs were making the US a more viable production location for some products, including clothes and sporting goods. "We're not lowering our margins and we're not raising our prices," he said. We've figured out how to get this done . . . We're not doing it as a stunt. We're not doing it as an opportunity to do anything other than improve our business both at the top line and the bottom line. Against a backdrop of US unemployment above 7 per cent, Mr Simon also said on Tuesday that Walmart aimed to hire more than 100,000 military veterans over the next five years by offering a job to any honourably discharged veteran in their first 12 months off active duty. The US sourcing initiative came after Walmart's supply chain and its mantra of lower prices were thrown into the spotlight once again last November by a fatal fire at a subcontractor's factory in Bangladesh where Walmart clothes were being made. The target to buy $50bn worth of US goods over the next 10 years compares with Walmart's global annual sales of $447bn in its past financial year. Speaking at a National Retail Federation conference, Mr Simon said Walmart was ready to sign longer-term agreements with US suppliers to give them the certainty needed to invest in expanding their manufacturing capacity. Walmart said its new purchases from US factories would encompass storage products, games and paper goods as well as textiles, furniture and higher-end appliances. Presenting Walmart's initiatives, Mr Simon said it did not make sense for retailers to wait for government to take action to help the economy. "We can't break that gridlock that exists in Washington, but we can break the paralysis of waiting for something," he said.