Alina Selyuk

He says business people love to negotiate their deals, make their own decisions, and, you know, live and die by them. And the sweeping tariffs take that ability out of their control.

He says business people love to negotiate their deals, make their own decisions, and, you know, live and die by them. And the sweeping tariffs take that ability out of their control.

For almost a century, U.S. law has carved out an exemption for small packages to not have to pay import duties. That's allowed packages worth under $800 to arrive in the U.S. duty-free. While most retailers ship in bulk, ultra-cheap retailers like Shein and Temu ship individual packages directly from China to shoppers in the U.S. and use the exemption to avoid paying tariffs.

For almost a century, U.S. law has carved out an exemption for small packages to not have to pay import duties. That's allowed packages worth under $800 to arrive in the U.S. duty-free. While most retailers ship in bulk, ultra-cheap retailers like Shein and Temu ship individual packages directly from China to shoppers in the U.S. and use the exemption to avoid paying tariffs.

And that saved them millions of dollars, and their popularity has exploded. President Biden and bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have pushed to close the loophole, and Trump did. But this created chaos for U.S. customs and shipping companies, and Trump has now delayed the plan. Unclear for how long. Alina Seluk, NPR News, Washington.

And that saved them millions of dollars, and their popularity has exploded. President Biden and bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have pushed to close the loophole, and Trump did. But this created chaos for U.S. customs and shipping companies, and Trump has now delayed the plan. Unclear for how long. Alina Seluk, NPR News, Washington.

About 8 percent of Costco store workers are represented by the Teamsters union. That's about 18,000 people in six states. The union demands better pay and benefits, pointing to Costco's record financial gains. And now the chain has announced a pay increase for non-union workers, according to an internal memo the CEO sent to staff seen by NPR.

About 8 percent of Costco store workers are represented by the Teamsters union. That's about 18,000 people in six states. The union demands better pay and benefits, pointing to Costco's record financial gains. And now the chain has announced a pay increase for non-union workers, according to an internal memo the CEO sent to staff seen by NPR.

Starting in March, most store workers would get a raise of $1 per hour for a minimum above $30 an hour. Entry-level pay will go up 50 cents for a minimum of $20 an hour. The raise is similar to one Costco gave last year. Costco teamsters argue it's only happening thanks to union pressure and that the company is still shorting its workers. Alina Seluch, NPR News.

Starting in March, most store workers would get a raise of $1 per hour for a minimum above $30 an hour. Entry-level pay will go up 50 cents for a minimum of $20 an hour. The raise is similar to one Costco gave last year. Costco teamsters argue it's only happening thanks to union pressure and that the company is still shorting its workers. Alina Seluch, NPR News.

Nordstrom is over a century old. It's a more upscale department store and it's been feeling lots of pressure from discount chains, but also from brands selling directly to shoppers. CEO Eric Nordstrom, President Pete Nordstrom and the rest of the Nordstrom family have been trying to take the company private for years.

Nordstrom is over a century old. It's a more upscale department store and it's been feeling lots of pressure from discount chains, but also from brands selling directly to shoppers. CEO Eric Nordstrom, President Pete Nordstrom and the rest of the Nordstrom family have been trying to take the company private for years.

Public stock markets tend to demand constant growth, which has been a struggle for most department stores. Now the board of directors has finally approved a deal. The family already owns about a third of the stock and will become the majority shareholder.

Public stock markets tend to demand constant growth, which has been a struggle for most department stores. Now the board of directors has finally approved a deal. The family already owns about a third of the stock and will become the majority shareholder.

Together with Mexico's Liverpool, the Nordstroms will buy all the shares for about $4 billion, plus they'll assume more than $2 billion in company debt.

Together with Mexico's Liverpool, the Nordstroms will buy all the shares for about $4 billion, plus they'll assume more than $2 billion in company debt.

Yeah, so the $25 billion grocery merger is over. Yesterday, the deal got a double whammy of legal losses. A federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington, in two separate cases, blocked the merger from going through in rulings that were about an hour within each other. And this was after two years of the companies trying to get this merger approved.

Yeah, so the $25 billion grocery merger is over. Yesterday, the deal got a double whammy of legal losses. A federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington, in two separate cases, blocked the merger from going through in rulings that were about an hour within each other. And this was after two years of the companies trying to get this merger approved.

Yeah, so the $25 billion grocery merger is over. Yesterday, the deal got a double whammy of legal losses. A federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington, in two separate cases, blocked the merger from going through in rulings that were about an hour within each other. And this was after two years of the companies trying to get this merger approved.

And they did have an option to appeal and keep fighting, but Albertsons has now walked away. Albertsons has sued Kroger, claiming willful breach of contract, failure to put in best efforts to secure regulatory approval of the merger. Now, Kroger has quickly rebutted, saying it is Albertsons that's deflecting its own responsibilities. So they're now in a trading blame stage.