the national retail federation is keeping a close eye on how president-elect donald trump might alter cross-border trade, tax policy and labor laws. <u+201c>the retail supply chain is a thoroughly global supply chain,<u+201d> said david french, senior vice president of government relations at the nrf on wednesday. <u+201c>anything that threatens two-way trade can hurt retail and consumers,<u+201d> mr. french said. the industry group, which counts thousands of retailers as members, expects mr. trump to favor reducing the regulatory burden on retailers, mr. french said, <u+201c>though we don<u+2019>t have a lot of specifics.<u+201d> and it is also hopeful that mr. trump<u+2019>s administration will work to roll back tougher labor laws implemented during president barack obama <u+2019>s administration, particularly a rule that expands the number of workers who qualify for overtime pay . the overtime rule, which raised the annual wage threshold at which employers must play overtime to $47,476, goes into effect dec. 1. already, wal-mart stores inc. has made changes to salaries to avoid paying more overtime. in september it raised starting salaries for store management from $45,000 to $48,500 annually ahead of the dec. 1 regulatory shift. the nrf is currently challenging parts of the law in court, said mr. french. ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, mr. french said it is unclear how the results could impact consumer sentiment and spending. <u+201c>this morning there are a lot of people who woke up very surprised,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>the divisions in the country are going to be hard to heal.<u+201d> write to sarah nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
retail federation watching for donald trump<u+2019>s trade policy - wsj
sarah nassauer