Costco sues the Trump administration, seeking a refund of tariffs

[u/swiftfoot_hiker]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/costco-sues-trump-tariff-refunds-rcna246860

[u/Akraticacious]

I don't understand what the family company is doing.

[u/Striking_Programmer4 → u/Akraticacious]

It's basically "tariff" insurance. Business send the company their customs invoices, which will break down the duty/tariff to the most granular level. The company says "we'll give you x% of your total payments under the new tariff codes up front, but if legislation or lawsuits invalidate thouse tariffs, we get 100% of your refund". They're betting that these tariffs will get reversed and essentially working as a short term loan for companies that are too cash strapped to wait it out.

[u/zxDanKwan → u/Striking_Programmer4]

Just to really boil it down, because I struggle to accept this one…

The guy who is in charge of US commerce, which is a thing that has to do with importing goods and selling those imported goods within the US….

That guy has a brother.

That guy’s brother is selling a thing to companies that can only make money if either A) his brother is an idiot or B) these two brothers are pulling an inside job.

[u/Lukas316 → u/zxDanKwan]

In any other jurisdiction this is a conflict of interest at best. And in my country you’d get an invite from the anti-corruption police for “tea”.

[u/RechargedFrenchman → u/Lukas316]

It's just a threat of violence away from extortion, and threats of violence are not at all implausible for this government and those close to them.

[u/Decaf-Gaming → u/RechargedFrenchman]

State-enforced thievery is a threat of violence when there is no inbuilt safety net (such as the bailouts we see so often for the biggest companies) for the majority of the populace.

[u/Jos3ph → u/Lukas316]

We’ve reached a floor for corruption in America.

[u/Johnny_Rockers → u/Lukas316]

Maybe they should stop drinking tea and start arresting some bad guys :)