After a tense election and a chaotic and unruly start to 2021 in the nation’s capital, the country remains as divided as ever. But nevertheless, there is work to be done. On this week’s Retail Gets Real podcast, NRF Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French shares what to expect from a new administration and a new environment in Washington, what matters most for retailers, and how NRF plans to work for the industry’s progress in the coming year.
French says to expect a more stable policy-making process and a more thoughtful, ongoing dialogue between retailers and politicians. “There’s going to be some degree of urgency to get back to business, and to get back to basics, and to get some stuff done,” he says. Though differences in policy might arise, French is optimistic that working relationships will be open and honest and allow for retailers and lawmakers to find solutions together.
Learn more about NRF’s top issues for the coming year.
“NRF is pro-retail,” French says. “We’re not Republican or Democrat. We approach the policy agenda that we have based on how we can build a coalition of support.”
Top policy issues include supply chain infrastructure, a national standard on data privacy and corporate tax rates. “Retailers and policymakers need to work together to get the economy back on track to recover from the pandemic, to get everybody vaccinated, and to make sure that people get back to work as quickly as possible,” French says. “People love shopping, and they want to be able to go out there and do it in person as safely as possible. Once the pandemic is behind us, continuing the growth of the economy is also a priority.”
Learn more about NRF’s six policy priorities here and listen to the full episode to learn more about what to expect with the next administration.
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