Government Relations

Photo Friday: Congressman Gil Cisneros Visits 99 Ranch Market, Hacienda Heights, CA

Last week, Congressman Gil Cisneros (CA-39) and Hill staff members met with engaged associates from TAWA Supermarkets, Inc....

Past is Prologue: Working with a New Congress to Pass the USMCA

There are 89 freshman House members in the 116thCongress and nine new Senators. Most, if not all these individuals, have not voted on a trade agreement in any context and many come from professions where the impacts and benefits of trade would not ...

Making Sense of State and Local Legislative Chaos at the FMI State Issues Retreat

The FMI State Issues Retreat brought together food retail grocery associations and grocery company professionals from each state to discuss state and local legislative issues of interest to the food retail industry. Among the issues discussed were ...

Engage With Your Elected Officials on FMI’s Advocacy Platform

To help the food retail industry share its story, recently, FMI launched a new, easy to use grassroots advocacy platform. From our Capitol Hill perspective, the new FMI Advocacy Center keeps us connected with our members of Congress, and makes sure ...

Remember Your First Job?

As leaders, we all started somewhere. The food retail industry is a noted provider of first-job opportunities for young workers. Many of these employees transition their first roles in a supermarket into a steppingstone for a future career in ...

Photo Friday: FMI President and CEO Joins U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Press Conference to Urge Passage of USMCA

The USMCA takes a very good trade agreement and makes it better by bringing it into the 21st century. It maintains and secures the existing supply chain, resulting in continued growth in U.S. food and beverage exports and strengthens our food safety ...

CBD-Infused Foods Remain Caught in A Patchwork of State and Local Laws

State cannabidiol (CBD) laws are joining the likes of plastic bag and minimum wage bills as a patchwork of differing state and local laws flood the country. But, what makes the issue of CBD drastically different is whether a state or locality is ...

Are You Ready for Barry?

As we collaborate on this post, the current storm in the Gulf of Mexico has just been deemed Tropical Storm Barry by the National Weather Service. That classification may change, and the potential impact of the storm is shifting rapidly; however, we ...

Proclaiming Family Meals Month in Every State: A College Student’s Perspective

State resolutions/proclamations are an excellent way to support the National Family Meals Month™ programs that are being implemented by the retailers and suppliers across the country....

Are You In or Out: Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement?

In addition to our regulatory and legislative work, FMI has been monitoring and reporting on an antitrust case filed fourteen years ago by a number of retailers against Visa and MasterCard and the largest issuing ...

Congress Weighs In As DIR Fees Threaten Supermarket Pharmacies

FMI united with a diverse coalition of pharmacy groups to continue urging the Trump Administration, while also lauding the recent, bipartisan emphasis by Congress on closing the loophole that inflates drug costs for patients and Medicare, and ...

Answering the Call: FMI Wins Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision

The Food Marketing Institute on behalf of the food retail industry did just that by achieving a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory (6-3) in its fight to protect retailer and shopper privacy. As FMI’s counsel stated soon after the Court issued its ...

What is “RTGS” And Why Is It Needed?

Last year, the Federal Reserve issued a request for comment on a proposal to establish a real time gross settlement system here in the United States. FMI enthusiastically submitted comments strongly supporting the FED moving forward with the ...

Cannabis and Hemp and CBD, Oh My! A Breakdown for Food Retailers

Whether you are walking through the aisles of your local supermarket, convenience store, pharmacy or simply perusing a health magazine, you have probably seen an increase in the number of products and advertisements promoting ingredients such as ...

Beyond the Grocery Store: The Need to Protect Confidential Business Data

The Retail Litigation Center was one of these industry groups to step forward and explain how its members rely on Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act to ensure that the confidential information their members disclose to the government will ...