Why Costco is Taking on Trump [View all]

By Bruce Ramsey

It’s nice to see a big Seattle-area company with the political cojones to defend its customers. I refer to Costco Wholesale, which is demanding refunds of the Trump tariffs it has had to pay. Costco is not the first company to sue for refunds — Kawasaki, Revlon and Bumble Bee Foods did it earlier. But among big U.S. retail chains, which have been hit hard by the tariffs, Costco is the first to stand up to the president in a federal court.

For years, I’ve heard Seattle progressives say America is ruled by the corporations. Why, then, have so many fat cats bent the knee to Donald Trump, picking up the tab for his White House ballroom? They’re dancing to his tune. The big companies around here — Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon — have a strong interest in free trade, as do their stockholders, employees and customers. Most of America’s big companies — now including the auto companies — are tied to customers and suppliers around the world and have no interest in the constipation of commerce.

Years ago, when I was a reporter of business news, I could see that business was not politically bold. Its world is commercial. A corporation might farm out the political stuff to a trade association with a lobbyist in Olympia or Washington, D.C., but when it came to publicly protesting government decisions, it was quiet. A family company might make a stink because the owner felt that way, and he was the boss, dammit, but the bigger the company, the smaller its courage. Especially the retailers. It might anger a customer.

How to explain the boldness of Costco? The DNA of its unusual founder, Jim Sinegal, is part of it. Another answer, from a stock analyst, was that the Issaquah company has developed a “cult following.” “Loyalty” is the better word, though Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and 20-ounce drink does have a following bordering on devotion. The hot dog deal, established by Sinegal 40 years ago, has an entry on Wikipedia and even a fan-based web page, costcohotdog.com. Call it a cult if you will; to me, it’s a badge of a company that looks out for customers. And the customers are the ones who ultimately pay for taxes on imported goods.

https://www.postalley.org/2025/12/16/why-costco-is-taking-on-trump/