ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday it has nominated former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to its board, as the warehouse retailer challenged President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on imported goods in a lawsuit filed earlier this week. The matching manoeuvres put Costco at the nexus of Washington’s escalating battle over President Trump’s trade powers and the prices people in America pay at the register, Dec. 4, 2025.
Costco adds former commerce secretary to its board.
Raimondo, the 40th U.S. commerce secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration and a former governor of Rhode Island, was responsible for supply-chain policy and export controls on China from 2021 to 2025. In its statement to investors, Costco said her global business and national-security experience would “add an important dimension” to the board, and that she will stand for election at the next annual meeting.
By bringing her into the boardroom, Costco adds a director who has led the trade agencies now defending Trump’s tariffs in court. Economists estimate that about one-third of Costco’s U.S. sales come from imports, many of them from China, so the retailer is unusually exposed to sudden tariff shocks.
Costco’s tariff fight with Trump
Costco’s announcement is part of a trend as Trump’s trade rhetoric escalates, from his second administration to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which ordered tariffs hiked to 145 per cent on Chinese products and new duties on Mexico, Canada and other partners. Business and consumer groups warn that the levies function as a tax on American shoppers by increasing the cost of everything from toys and electronics to everyday household items such as clothing and shoes.
Costco has accused the White House of abusing the IEEPA, which allows it to take action in a national emergency, and converting emergency powers intended for “unusual and extraordinary threats” into an across-the-board tariff regime, in a November 28 complaint filed to the U.S. Court of International Trade, according to a comprehensive account by the Guardian. It seeks to have judges halt the further collection of duties on its imports and require refunds for duties already paid.
The case comes as the Supreme Court considers whether Trump exceeded his authority by invoking IEEPA to impose far-reaching tariffs. More than one justice has suggested they are troubled that the program is “taxes on Americans,” which should only be levied by Congress. Newsweek’s investigation of the lawsuit examined this question thoroughly. Costco’s suit could affect the power future presidents have in trade.
A blast from the past for tariffs — now hitting Costco and its shoppers
Warnings about those trade risks have been mounting for years. A 2024 analysis by the Tax Foundation also concluded that a proposed 60 per cent tax on all Chinese imports would, in effect, amount to a huge tax hike for American consumers and disrupt supply chains rather than cause a rebirth of manufacturing. These early models pointed to higher prices and slower growth, not a rapid return of factory jobs.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget later that year estimated that Trump’s plan to impose 60 per cent tariffs on China could bring in much less revenue than projected and could end up reducing federal receipts once slower economic growth was accounted for. Its report card on the budget showed how heavy duties can backfire financially, even as they are cast politically as a get-tough-on-China policy.
By nominating Raimondo while suing the Trump administration, Costco signals that trade policy is a board-level risk to be managed, not just another Washington distraction. Costco shareholders will decide whether to remove her from the board. The bigger verdict may come in New York City and Washington, where judges will rule on how much control presidents have over the prices on Costco’s shelves.
