“Whether it’s the automobile you drive, the gasoline you use, the groceries you put on the table, or the shoes and the clothes you put on your feet and back, the prices of all of those things will get driven up by the border adjustment tax,” said Matt Shay, the chief executive of the National Retail Federation, in a statement.

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Economists say there is little reason for retailers to be fearful of this policy. They say the value of the dollar will increase significantly if a border adjustment tax is implemented, thereby reducing importers’ cost of goods. However, retailers are deeply concerned. What if the dollar doesn’t appreciate as much as expected or on the timetable that is expected? And even if they wanted to switch from buying imported products to items that are made stateside, that would be extremely difficult to do overnight. They have contracts to honor with overseas factories, and the United States doesn’t currently have the manufacturing capacity to make the huge volume of goods that major retailers are capable of selling.

Republicans floated the idea of a border adjustment tax last summer in their “A Better Way” plan, which included a blueprint for tax reform. But the issue has gained fresh urgency in the retail industry now that there is a Republican president in the White House who has indicated he’s interested in overhauling the tax system.

It is unclear whether President Trump supports a border adjustment tax. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said it was “too complicated.”

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The new coalition, which has dubbed itself Americans for Affordable Products, includes big-name retailers such as Rite Aid, Nike, Neiman Marcus, Kohl’s and others. In recent days, other groups have also come out swinging against the idea of a border adjustment tax, including the conservative advocacy organization Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity, backed by the Koch brothers who own oil refineries among other assets.

They are likely girding for a contentious fight: Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been talking up the proposal as a way to give a boost to American exporters. And legislators are in a tough spot if they drop this specific part of the tax plan, because they’ll have to find some other way to drum up huge amounts of revenue for the federal government to make up for tax cuts and other priorities.

The retail industry is finding itself in a strange position as this debate heats up in Washington: For years, it has been enthusiastically supporting the idea of corporate tax reform, telling Washington that slashing rates would free up money for them to invest more in their businesses and create more jobs. The Republican blueprint calls for reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, exactly the kind of cut retailers have been salivating for. But, the fact those cuts come entwined with a border adjustment tax makes the plan unpalatable.

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