NEWS FLASH: Retailers unite against BAT

More than 100 U.S. retailers and trade groups have formed Americans for Affordable Prices, a coalition designed to convince lawmakers to abandon import tax proposals. A group of more than 100 U.S. retailers and retail trade associations on Wednesday created a new organization dedicated to highlighting the increase in prices consumers would face if Congress and the Trump administration follow through on policies to add taxes or tariffs to U.S. imports. The initiative, called the Americans for Affordable Products, is primarily aimed at pushing back against proposals to impose a tax on imports sourced abroad. One proposal being pushed by Congressional Republicans as part of a wider tax reform bill, called the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT), which was covered in American Shipper’s new Adam Smith Project, has drawn criticism from retail groups. Members of the coalition include some of the country’s biggest importers, like Walmart, Target, DICK’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s. It also includes manufacturers that operate retail outlets in the United States, like Abercrombie & Fitch, or both operate independent outlets and depend on retailers to sell their products manufactured abroad, like Nike and Levi Strauss & Co. Major trade associations, like the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, as well as a number of state retail associations are also involved. The coalition’s goal is to “focus on educating lawmakers on the harmful impact of the new tax, specifically the resulting higher costs consumers will face on family essentials, such as food, gas and clothing.” “While well intended, a proposed Border Adjustment Tax could increase prices on a wide range of basic consumer goods, hitting the pocketbooks of middle class Americans,” Consumer Technology Association (CTA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro said in a blog post on the coalition’s website. “We urge policymakers to incentivize U.S. manufacturing in ways that don’t hurt the hundreds of thousands of American businesses who employ millions of American workers.” Check out the Adam Smith Project for even more in-depth global trade and regulatory coverage, including a commentary from Jonathan Gold, NRF’s vice president of supply chain and customs policy.