Trade War Puts Retailers on Edge
U.S.-Canada Trade War Puts Retailers in the Crossfire

New tariffs threaten higher prices, disrupted supply chains and another round of difficult decisions for North American retailers

The escalating trade fight between the United States and Canada is creating a new challenge for retailers already navigating inflation, cautious consumers and an unpredictable global economy.

The Trump administration recently imposed 50% tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods, following the breakdown of trade negotiations between the longtime partners. Canada responded by announcing matching counter-tariffs on U.S. products, scheduled to take effect September 8.

For retailers, the concern extends well beyond international politics.

The Retail Council of Canada warned that additional tariffs will increase costs for American consumers, destabilize highly integrated North American supply chains and force some Canadian retailers selling affected products into the U.S. to shift business elsewhere. Earlier this year, the RCC joined the National Retail Federation and Mexico's ANTAD in urging governments to protect the integrated North American retail market.

Retailers are already changing how they operate.

A recent DOSS survey found that 38% of company revenue, on average, is directly affected by changing tariff policies. One-third of respondents said they are passing higher costs to customers, while 40% have begun repricing affected products. Another 25% accelerated purchases to secure inventory before additional costs hit.

Others are attempting to absorb the increases. Fifty-eight percent said their companies absorbed costs they had originally planned to pass along to customers, potentially putting additional pressure on retail margins.

Recent history suggests consumers won't escape entirely.

Bank of Canada researchers examined more than 110,000 products following Canada's 2025 counter-tariffs and found prices of tariffed products increased approximately 6% more than comparable non-tariffed goods. Retailers initially absorbed much of the cost but passed more of it to shoppers when they expected tariffs to remain in place longer.

The response is also moving beyond pricing. Retailers are reconsidering suppliers, buying inventory earlier, shifting sourcing and reevaluating long-term investments.

For an industry built around increasingly interconnected supply chains, the biggest problem may ultimately be uncertainty. Retailers can adjust to higher costs. Adjusting repeatedly as trade policies change is considerably harder.  retailcouncil.org  bankofcanada.ca


Safety's Expanding Role in Business
If Safety Can’t Speak Business, Safety Won’t Influence Business

The evolving role of safety professionals presents an opportunity to contribute to enterprise-wide resilience, workforce well-being, and long-term organizational success, moving beyond traditional compliance responsibilities.

The safety profession has historically communicated through the language of compliance. For decades, safety leaders were expected to understand regulations, interpret standards, investigate incidents, and maintain programs intended to reduce injuries and protect workers. Those responsibilities remain foundational to the profession.

However, the environment surrounding safety has transformed significantly. As organizations navigate workforce shortages, operational instability, burnout and rapidly evolving employee expectations, the conversation around safety is changing with it.

Many executive leaders today are focused on retention, productivity, operational continuity and workforce sustainability. Yet safety initiatives are still frequently communicated in terms of regulatory obligation rather than organizational performance. That disconnect can prevent leadership from fully recognizing the broader value safety professionals bring to the organization.

Compliance remains foundational, but most organizations do not make strategic decisions based solely on compliance language. Leadership teams evaluate priorities through the lens of operational impact, workforce stability, financial exposure and organizational resilience. Safety professionals who are unable to connect their work with those broader organizational drivers may struggle to gain influence, secure resources or sustain leadership engagement.

This challenge is becoming more apparent as the profession expands beyond its traditional focus on physical hazards. Slips, falls, machine guarding, lockout/tagout, confined space entry, hazardous energy control and industrial hygiene exposures remain critically important, but organizations are also confronting fatigue, disengagement, burnout and turnover, all of which influence human performance and operational reliability. ehstoday.com


Gates Sounds Alarm on AI
Bill Gates was an AI optimist. Now he’s scared of what could go wrong.

In an essay, the Microsoft co-founder sounds the alarm about artificial intelligence’s risks to safety and security, jobs and children’s well-being.

In a new essay published online Wednesday, the philanthropist says he is worried that AI could do more harm than good. Gates said in an interview that it’s fair to say he’s now scared of what could go wrong with AI absent urgent intervention.

Over the past year, Gates said, he’s grown alarmed about the technology’s increasing capabilities to complete workplace tasks and go on hacking sprees. Most of all he’s worried about a lack of progress in regulating AI and minimizing its downsides.

For the first time in his life, Gates said, he finds himself wishing that a new technology would advance more slowly. “I’m surprised to feel this way,” Gates said in the interview with The Washington Post. “I’ve never seen a problem that innovation can’t solve.”

In his essay, Gates suggests ways to respond to AI’s risks, including setting aside some jobs for humans, and writes that he’ll have more to say about policy solutions soon.

Gates’s concerns focus on three major categories: safety threats including AI-enabled hacking, biological weapons and fraud; job destruction from AI and AI-powered robots; and risks to children’s well-being, including AI stunting their learning or human relationships. washingtonpost.com


Employees Pour Money Into AI for Everyday Work
Microsoft employees reveal how much cash they're burning on AI

The median AI usage amount among about 350 entries was $300 over 28 days.

Microsoft employees aren't just comparing salaries this year, they're comparing how much AI they use.

An internal spreadsheet viewed by Business Insider shows hundreds of employees voluntarily reporting not only their raises, bonuses, and stock awards, but also the dollar value of the AI tools they used over the past month. Microsoft is offering employees an internal tool to track their AI usage and spending.

The figures offer a rare glimpse into how AI is being used inside Microsoft as the company races rivals, including Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, to build AI products.

As the company spends hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure and pushes employees to weave AI into their daily work, the spreadsheet shows how usage varies dramatically across teams, from just a few dollars a month to tens of thousands. It also suggests that, at least for now, heavier AI use isn't translating into bigger raises, bonuses, or promotions.

Microsoft isn't alone in trying to understand how employees use AI. Across Big Tech, companies are increasingly tracking AI consumption as they spend billions building models and infrastructure. businessinsider.com


US consumer confidence falls to lowest level in 7 months with gas stuck above $4
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July. That was the lowest level in seven months but was essentially within the same lukewarm range it has been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025, readings were consistently above 100.

Inflation remains sticky in July; 2nd-quarter GDP unrevised at 1.5%

USPS files for rate increase for peak holiday season