In Texas, most places have an 8% sales tax. So, if we buy something worth $100, we must pay $108.
Imagine that an item comes from Canada and costs the buyer $100 before tariffs. However, a 20% tariff on the same item would make the buyer pay $120. The buyer pays the tariff.
Walmart is the buyer of that item. Most companies sell products at a profit, often over 100% of their costs. Walmart now has a choice: It can absorb the additional cost of the item or add it to the price the buyer will pay.
If you were Walmart, would you swallow the cost or pass it on to the customer? Most businesses will pass the cost on to the customer, so that $100 item becomes a $120 item. So when we buy it here in Texas, we would pay $120 plus the 8% sales tax, which is $129.60.
The item before tariffs would have cost us $108, but it is now $129.60, or $21.60 more.
That is how tariffs work with variations, because the buyer can absorb some of the cost or the seller may sell for less. But the customer us will get screwed because we are now paying more for the same item.