Q&A: ‘Tis
the Season for Shipping and Shopping
With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
Q: What’s the outlook for this holiday shopping season?
A: Inflation
is top of mind for consumers during this holiday season. Rising interest rates
are pinching household budgets and high energy costs will force Americans to
pay more to heat their homes this winter. Whereas shipping bottlenecks and
disrupted supply chains caused headaches for shoppers and retailers the last
two years, yet another cloud loomed over this holiday season: a potential rail
strike that would derail the U.S. economy and create significant hardship for
American agriculture and other key sectors dependent on cargo shipped by rail.
For months, I have repeatedly called
upon Congress to take action. That’s why I co-sponsored a resolution
in September that would require the railroads and unions to accept the
agreement negotiated by the Presidential Emergency Board, which notably
recommended the largest pay increase in industry history at 24 percent.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration punted, creating a cloud of uncertainty
for all who rely on the railroads. Don’t forget, this is the same
administration that claimed inflation was “transitory” and that the border is
secure. So, the U.S. economy was barreling towards a catastrophic rail strike, creating
unnecessary havoc and costly shipping headaches for bulk commodities, including
grain, biofuels, construction materials, chemicals and coal. Finally,
Congress took the action I’ve been advocating for since September to prevent
the strike and keep the trains and our economy running through the holiday
season and beyond.
The holiday shopping season serves as the meat and
potatoes for small businesses and retailers in communities across the country.
The National Retail Federation estimates holiday sales will increase up to
eight percent from last year, reaching as much as $960 billion during November
and December. Consumers need to be vigilant to protect themselves from online
scams. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Organized
retail crime is driving a stake through the U.S. marketplace. Small businesses
are the bread and butter of the economy and can’t sustain smash and grab thefts
or compete fairly with stolen or counterfeit goods sold online. In addition to
my efforts to avert a nationwide rail strike, I’m also working to put the
brakes on criminal enterprise rings defrauding consumers and stealing from
retailers. Paying top dollar for fake and counterfeit products is worse than a
lump of coal in one’s stocking and certainly takes the joy out of shopping.
Q: How would your bill protect consumers from stolen and
counterfeit goods?
A: Throughout
the 117th Congress, I’ve worked across the aisle to forge a bipartisan
consensus on the INFORM
Consumers Act with
members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Our bill would help fight organized
crime that’s putting the lives and livelihoods of small business owners and
retail employees at risk. Organized crime rings have grown emboldened and more
aggressive to swipe merchandise right off store shelves. This is shoplifting on
steroids – a sophisticated criminal enterprise that resells stolen
goods online. As a result, consumers pay more for products they need because
retailers mark up prices to recoup losses from stolen merchandise. Retail crime
rings also peddle counterfeit products that rip off consumers who believe
they’re buying authentic brands.
Transparency
helps bring accountability. Specifically, our bill would require online
marketplaces to verify the identities of high-volume third-party sellers. A
seller with more than $5,000 in at least 200 sales over the previous 12 months
would be required to verify their identities. This would help prosecutors crack
down on illegal activity and root out online scams. Our bill also would help
neutralize the incentive for selling stolen and counterfeit goods. By requiring
online platforms to verify the seller, our bill helps them become better
stewards instead of complicit resellers for the bad actors peddling stolen and fake
merchandise. Our bill would help expose the grinches of organized crime who are
lining their pockets by selling stolen and counterfeit goods online. These
lawless outfits make it harder for retailers to stay financially afloat in
their local communities and scam unsuspecting consumers with fake or stolen
products. Enough is enough. I’m working with Chairman Dick Durbin to get our
bill to the President’s desk before the end of the year on a must-pass
legislative vehicle. I’ve also introduced a bipartisan bill called Combating
Organized Retail Crime Act to get a better handle on the growing
reign of organized retail crime and help recover lost goods and proceeds. It
would create a federal task force to examine the nearly $70 billion problem
confronting American businesses. These crime rings aren’t stuffing their
mattresses with their ill-gotten gains. According to the Department of Homeland
Security, the profits from selling stolen merchandise help finance other
criminal activities, such as human trafficking, drug smuggling and terrorism.
From shipping to shopping, I’m working to help put our economy on the right
track and ensure consumers aren’t taken for a ride during this season of
gift-giving.
