While those fees are paid by the store every time a customer makes a transaction, they often get passed onto consumers through higher costs for goods and services. 

These fees are commonly referred to as swipe fees or interchange fees, which the National Retail Federation (NRF) argued added inflationary pressure to the US economy, driving up prices for households nationwide.

These fees often fall between 2% and 2.5%. But under the long-awaited deal, which would end 20 years of litigation, Mastercard and Visa agreed to lower the fees that businesses pay when customers use their credit cards by about one-tenth of a percent on most US credit card purchases for five years, according to regulatory filings.

This means merchants would pay 0.1% less per transaction, which could save retailers and consumers money when spread across millions of purchases.

The NRF has long argued that swipe fees are one of the highest operating expenses for retailers, which it said drives up consumer prices by over $1,200 a year for the average family. 

Mastercard and Visa agreed to lower the fees that businesses pay when customers use their credit cards by about one-tenth of a percent on most US credit card purchases for five years, according to regulatory filings. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Stephanie Martz, NRF chief administrative officer and general counsel, said the planned reduction announced in Monday’s settlement doesn’t go far enough and that “it is a small fraction of the 2.35% average swipe fee charged to merchants in 2024 and equivalent to rolling back fees by only about one year.” Martz said swipe fees have grown by three times as much since 2010 and averaged 2.26% in 2023. She believes the new proposed settlement should be rejected.

The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) echoed this sentiment, saying that the settlement should be rejected because “it will not benefit merchants and consumers and would provide the credit card giants legal immunity to increase fees and anti-competitive practices.”

Mastercard told FOX Business that it believes the deal is the “best resolution for all parties, delivering the clarity, flexibility and consumer protections that were sought in this effort.” 

With the deal, Mastercard said smaller merchants will gain more acceptance choices, reduced costs and simplified rules.

“Even more, it allows us to focus our energies on continuing to give consumers, small businesses and larger merchants what they expect from Mastercard – a better payments experience, strong value and peace of mind,” the company said.

Visa said the proposed settlement with US merchants of all sizes “would provide meaningful relief, more flexibility and options to control how they accept payments from their customers.” 

The National Retail Federation said the settlement doesn’t go far enough and “it is a small fraction of the 2.35% average swipe fee charged to merchants in 2024 and equivalent to rolling back fees by only about one year.” AP

The terms of the deal would also give merchants more power by loosening the requirements that state that if they accept one of the network’s cards, they would be required to accept all of them. For example, stores could choose whether to take consumer cards, business cards, or both.

Within consumer cards, they could decide whether to accept standard cards, premium rewards cards, or both. But merchants can’t pick and choose between banks, which means they can’t accept a Chase Visa but reject a Citi Visa if both are the same card type.

The deal still needs to be approved by a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York before it becomes final. The settlement would resolve ongoing US merchant litigation against Mastercard and Visa that is related to interchange fees and merchant rules.

Both companies were sued by merchants over how they set and enforce credit-card swipe fees and rules that limit how merchants can steer customers toward cheaper payment methods. Those cases have been ongoing since 2005. The companies have not admitted any wrongdoing.

The changes to its fee system and card-acceptance rules aren’t expected to take effect until the court approves the settlement, which is expected sometime in late 2026 or early 2027.

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new video loaded: How Tariffs Will Affect This Unique Cheese

By Eshe Nelson, Nikolay Nikolov, Laura Salaberry, Emli Bendixen and Jon Hazell•August 20, 2025

Stilton is a special type of blue cheese that can be made in only three English counties. There are just four producers of Stilton left, but this one was crowned best cheese in the world, according to one of the industry’s top awards last year. Eshe Nelson, a business reporter for The New York Times, went to Clawson Farms, the producer of the award-winning Stilton, which is trying to expand its business in the United States, despite the higher costs imposed by the Trump administration’s tariff policy.

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The retail industry is breathing a sigh of relief after it appeared to avoid the worst case scenario on Vietnam tariffs.

But some executives believe the tentative trade deal President Donald Trump announced Wednesday is still bad for business and could have a chilling effect on consumer spending. 

“It’s a lot better news than where we were on Liberation Day,” one CEO of a popular consumer brand told CNBC after Trump said tariffs on Vietnamese imports would be 20%, down from the 46% levy he proposed on April 2, then later suspended. The new rate would be double the 10% duty currently in place.

Another executive called the news “bad” but agreed that a 20% tariff was better than the 46% duty Trump originally imposed, however unrealistic the proposed rate was.

“I guess Trump needs ‘positive’ news,” a third executive said. “I think things are going to evolve. Let’s see if this is definitive.” 

Trump’s announcement on Wednesday came only days before the 90-day suspension of the steep tariffs he proposed in April expires next week, and as his administration scrambles to strike agreements with dozens of trading partners. Even so, he did not say when the deal with Vietnam would take effect, or whether both sides have agreed to the tariff rates.

In the months between Trump’s April 2 tariff rollout and his announcement on Wednesday, retail executives in the apparel and footwear industries fretted over the potential that Vietnam imports could face tariffs nearly as high as the cumulative 55% duties for Chinese imports. 

Over the last decade, some of America’s top retailers, including Gap, American Eagle and Nike, have all reduced their reliance on China to shield themselves from both high tariffs and the region’s geopolitical turbulence. 

Many sought refuge in Vietnam, where the factories, some owned by Chinese businesses, are known to produce products at a similar quality and price as China. They also started manufacturing in other countries in southeast Asia, such as Cambodia, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Those countries were facing tariffs of 49%, 37% and 24%, respectively, under Trump’s April plan, but are subject to a 10% duty for now.

Vietnam is now the second largest supplier for footwear, apparel and accessories sold into the U.S. market, according to the industry trade group the American Apparel & Footwear Association. It has become an essential part of the footwear supply chain, on pace to become the largest supplier of shoes to the U.S. in 2025, according to the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, another industry trade group.

If Trump’s proposed 46% tariff on Vietnam had taken effect, it would mean much of the industry’s work to leave China would have been for naught. Some companies are relieved the tentative deal would set the levy at 20% and the announcement agreement is also a sign that Cambodia, Malaysia and Bangladesh could reach similar frameworks. 

“Twenty percent is a sigh of relief,” said Sonia Lapinsky, a partner and managing director at AlixPartners who advises fashion brands. “There’s some positivity and some optimism that this is manageable. So at least there’s that. This isn’t business destroying, which is great. However, this does have real implications, right?”

Most companies have plenty of tools to offset the impact of tariffs, such as working with their suppliers to share costs. But to avoid major hits to their profit margins, many including Nike are planning to raise prices. It’s still unclear how those hikes will affect consumer spending because it will take time for the increases to trickle down in the supply chain. 

AlixPartners previously created pricing models for CNBC that examined how the price of Vietnamese-made sweaters and shoes could rise under Trump’s proposed tariffs — if retailers do not pass any of the cost on to suppliers or shoppers. At a 10% levy, the cost of a $95 pair of men’s shoes could rise by $7.42 to $102.42. With a 20% duty in place, the cost increase would be even larger.

Many executives worry any tariff hike of this magnitude will be bad for businesses and consumers. Paul Cosaro, the CEO of Picnic Time, a supplier to top retailers like Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s, said if the clocks were wound back to April and Trump said there’d be a 20% tariff on Vietnamese imports, “no one would’ve been happy.” 

“There could be threats of a 46% tariff and you come back with 20 and it’s going to sound better but… it’s just more money coming out of the consumers’ pockets at the end of the day and they have less money to spend on picnic baskets and coolers and things like that,” said Cosaro, who raised his prices between 11% and 14% earlier this year to offset the cost of China tariffs.

“It’s not good for the consumer. Ultimately, it’s just increasing the prices … I don’t think that’s good news.”

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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Brace Yourself for Tariff Impacts on Books

Trump’s so-called Liberation Day arrived on April 2, planned after April Fool’s Day so it wouldn’t be mistaken for a joke. And who was laughing after he delivered the details of sweeping tariffs from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday? Senator John Kennedy doesn’t care about what the experts say but many, many investors and industries do, with stocks seeing their worst single-day drop since 2020. Tariff hikes are expected to impact households nationwide with many lower-priced products people rely on imported and increased costs passed on to consumers. Everyone is scrambling to figure out just how much tariff increases will impact consumer prices and the price of producing goods, including publishing. We have no definitive answers yet, but the industry has been bracing itself for impact, especially publishers who rely on printing in China, and with a not insignificant amount of paper imported from outside the U.S. This is a developing story with more information sure to arrive over the coming weeks and months.

New Literary Stamps Will Be Unveiled at Immersive Book Space

I never thought I’d add North Kansas City, Mo to my list of destinations, but then came The Rabbit hOle, an immersive space that allows kids to walk, crawl, and climb into their favorite books. I can’t imagine a better place for the United States Postal Service to unveil new Goodnight Moon stickers. The unveiling is set for May 2nd, ahead of Children’s Book Week, which runs the week of May 5th. If you’re local, the event is free and open to the public and will feature Thacher Hurd, children’s book creator and son of Goodnight Moon illustrator Clement Hurd, reading the book aloud. Register to attend here, and if you want to learn more about the wonder that is The Rabbit hOle, check out this write-up.

Transform your reading experience! Become an All Access member and unlock a treasure trove of exclusive content—must-read articles, deep dives, and curated recommendations—with unlimited access to 20+ members-only newsletters, community features, and more. Sign up now for only $6/month!

Just When You Thought Colleen Hoover Was Out of the News

Just kidding, nobody thought that. Hoover’s Verity is getting a Michael Showalter adaptation (The Idea of You), with Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, and Dakota Johnson starring, and CinemaCon attendees got to see an exclusive trailer. If you can’t wait for it to become publicly available, you can read a description at The Hollywood Reporter. Verity is a book about a book–a ghostwriter hired to help complete a bestselling author’s ouvré discovers a treasure trove of nightmarish secrets by way of a hidden autobiographical manuscript–and Showalter described his film as a “gripping psychological thriller.” Between the cast, the director, and the writer behind this film, I have no doubt it’ll be a big box office hit when it arrives in theaters May 2026.

Libby’s Most Anticipated April Releases

This is a big month for great books, and if you’re curious about Libby’s most anticipated books, we’ve got answers for you! You’ll find familiar names (Emily Henry, Jasmine Guillory, and Huda Fahmy, we see you), and some debuts. Check out the list here.

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Canada and Mexico will be hit with a 25% tariff on all imports, while Chinese products will receive a more modest 10% tariff.

The US will also impose 10% tariffs on energy products from Canada, including natural gas, oil and electricity.

President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China. Getty Images

The three Executive Orders have a retaliation clause that will boost the tariffs should the three countries respond.

The tariffs are in response to the three nations’ tolerance of illegal immigrants and fentanyl, the later of which has flooded the United States in recent years, leading to the deaths of “tens of millions” of Americans, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Friday.

“We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as President to ensure the safety of all. I made a promise on my Campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our Borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The tariffs are being brought down through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEA), which “authorizes the President to regulate imports during a national emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act.”

Trump invoked NEA last month, citing a national crisis at the southern US border.

Trump’s tariffs will likely lead to more expensive cars at least in the short term before American suppliers can ramp up to fill the shortfall. ZUMAPRESS.com

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) blasted Trump over tariffs — which he said would only make life harder for Americans.

“It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up,” he told CNN, adding that the tariffs “will likely hit Americans in their wallets” and said lawmakers should instead be focusing on “going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies.”

The Democrat then went on an X tirade, warning Americans in a series of posts that the new tariffs will raise already-high prices ranging from gas to pizza: “Wait till Trump’s tariffs raise your pizza prices.

Trump’s trade war on Canada is expected to officially kick in Tuesday by imposing the 25% tariff on nearly all goods from the US’s northern neighbor.

The US will also impose 10% tariffs on energy products from Canada. AP

Canada, however, was expected to hit back later Saturday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing retaliatory tariffs against America, its biggest customer for trade, the outlet reported.

It was unclear Saturday when the United States will begin imposing tariffs on Mexico and China.

Trump has long been a fan of taxing imports from other nations as a way to correct trade imbalances, raise revenues and be used as leverage for unrelated policy battles.

Earlier this month when Colombia initially refused to accept a plane load of their citizens in the United States illegally, Trump vowed to implement tariffs as high as 50% — a move that would likely have sent the small Colombia nation into depression.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro immediately buckled under pressure and even offered his presidential plane to assist in the deportations.

The tariffs could mean significant price increases for ordinary Americans on everyday products.

Cars and car parts

In 2024, the United States imported more than $100 billion worth of cars and vehicle parts from Mexico, with another $34 billion coming from Canada.

Trump’s tariffs will likely lead to more expensive cars at least in the short term before American suppliers can ramp up to fill the shortfall.

Food and Alcohol

Your margaritas and sipping tequilas will also likely take a nasty bump.

In 2024, the United States imported $46 billion of agricultural products from Mexico, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of that figure, fresh fruits totaled $9 billion, and cost for fruit will likely become more expensive at grocery stores across the country when the tariffs kick in.

Consumer electronics

The tariffs could also reduce consumer spending power by $90 billion on smartphones, TVs, laptops and tablets, video game consoles, headphones and other popular electronics, according to the Consumer Technology Association. 

Laptops and tablets could see 45% price increases while similar double-digit increases for smartphones and video games could also be on the offing.

“The likelihood of retailers or any importer absorbing the tariff cost is very low, so the pass through to consumers will be quick,” Ed Brzytwa, vice president of international trade at CTA told CBS News “On all the products we looked at, there are going to be price increases.”

The Peterson Institute has estimated Trump’s proposed tariffs would cost the typical US household over $2,600 a year.

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