Leading Retailers Want State of the Union Focused on Growth

By [ Brian Dodge ]
Washington, DC
02/04/2020

Brian Dodge, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, issued the following statement in advance of the President’s State of the Union address:

“Leading retailers are focused on securing efficient supply chains, promoting competition and innovation, growing the 21^st century retail workforce, enhancing the customer experience, and ensuring safe and affordable products are available for consumers. These are the issues driving economic resilience and the issues that leading retailers want addressed in tonight’s State of the Union address.

“Leading retailers will be keenly interested in the next steps on international trade. Despite the phase-one deal, tariffs remain in place on approximately $370 billion of Chinese imports. These taxes combined with the uncertainty of the trade war are chilling business investment and threatening long-term economic growth. Leading retailers urge the Administration to act immediately towards a final trade deal with China that removes all tariffs and restores certainty.

”It is also imperative for lawmakers to address the explosion of marketplace sales of counterfeit and stolen goods. The White House has taken the lead addressing the sharp uptick in counterfeit goods sold online, but the proliferation of platforms which allow relative anonymity to sell stolen goods has also led to a sharp increase in organized retail crime targeting retailers. These crimes hurt more than the bottom line, as our employees and customers are increasingly put at risk as these instances proliferate and grow more violent. We urge lawmakers to work with the White House to address both these troubling trends and provide the resources to law enforcement to crack down on the largest and most dangerous criminal networks.”

RILA released the 2020 Retail Public Policy Agenda in January. The full agenda can be accessed here.

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RILA is the US trade association for leading retailers. We convene decision-makers, advocate for the industry, and promote operational excellence and innovation. Our aim is to elevate a dynamic industry by transforming the environment in which retailers operate.

RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs, and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers domestically and abroad.