Priya Sharma 
Thirteen companies including Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Shein have asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to reject a cross-industry MDL over consumer tariff refund suits, CFO Dive reported September 18. The panel hears the separate Amazon tariff MDL in Chicago on September 24.
The House adopted the rule 214-211 on September 15 and votes September 16 on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which would let the president impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the largest buyers of Russian oil, starting with China, India and Turkey. For US retail importers it is a court-proof tariff aimed at $429 billion of sourcing.
The European Parliament is set to confirm the recast Union Customs Code at its Strasbourg plenary on September 16, the last legislative step before the EU customs reform is published. Commissioner Sefcovic told MEPs on Monday that e-commerce operators join the Data Hub from July 2028 and that the handling fee on low-value parcels starts November 1.
PwC’s Consumer Sentiment Index turned positive for the first time since 2021, rising to +1 in August from -13 in April, with 14% of shoppers already buying for Christmas. The firm warns the cheer will fade with autumn food and fuel inflation and the 28 October Budget, and tells retailers to launch Christmas now.
NRF and Hackett Associates now forecast 2.31 million TEU for September, up 9.6%, making it the busiest month of 2026 after Los Angeles and Long Beach posted record summer volumes. The full-year forecast rises to 25.7 million TEU as weather delays, Panama Canal rerouting and steady consumer demand stretch the peak into the holiday quarter.
Retailers are steering more than $4 billion of refunded IEEPA duties into shelf prices while the tariff schedule steps down. The signals point to US core goods CPI printing at or below zero year over year in the November 2026 report, due mid-December.
Albertsons created an executive chair role and appointed former eBay and Hewlett-Packard chief Meg Whitman to it, effective September 8, 2026. The board expands to 11 seats as the grocer works through a cut fiscal 2026 forecast and the ACI Edge restructuring.
Signals point to no proposed rule under RIN 1685-AA47 before June 30, 2027, and no binding regulation in force before the 2027 holiday peak. The same disclosure demands are likely to reach importers first through general notices, voluntary tests and broker contract terms.
USTR signalled the Section 301 textile tariff-rate quotas for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia would be feasible around September 1, but no establishing Federal Register notice has published. Covered apparel continues to enter at the flat 10 percent duty with no quota volume available.
The FTC pushed the comment deadline on its proposed personalized pricing enforcement policy statement to September 25, 2026, seven days later than planned. The proposal would require retailers to disclose when a price is individualized, why, and what data feeds it.