Immigration reform, the passage of the Credit Card Competition Act and continued tariff exemptions for products covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are the National Restaurant Association’s key political priorities this year, the association said in a Thursday press release.
The association said that about a quarter of restaurant workers are immigrants and that surveys indicate harsher immigration enforcement — like Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis — and the related disruption to business activities has hurt restaurant operators.
A recent survey indicated that 55% of operators have faced difficulties as a result of the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, the association said. Out of surveyed operators, 37% reported a drop in sales and traffic, 25% said they had trouble hiring and retaining workers, and 18% saw employees miss shifts or fail to show up.
Sean Kennedy, the NRA’s executive vice president for public affairs, said the association is pushing for “protection for the industry’s current workforce, a fix for the work visa system, and a modern immigration system for the future.”
Swipe fees on credit and debit card transactions are another sore point for operators, the NRA said, with two-thirds of restaurateurs saying their swipe fee costs have increased over the last two years by an average of about 9.4%. The NRA is backing the Credit Card Competition Act, a proposed law that would require card issuers to ensure merchants have payment processing options outside of Visa and MasterCard. The bill, according to Payments Dive, has attracted social media support from President Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, the NRA celebrated a court ruling in Illinois that will likely make it easier for states to regulate swipe fees, which could shift the political battle over fees out of Washington if the CCCA stalls in Congress or is defeated.
Last but not least, the association called on the administration to continue to exempt USMCA goods from tariffs. The trade agreement is up for review this year, and Canada and Mexico are the top suppliers of imported foodstuffs used by restaurants.
“Preserving the USMCA keeps the restaurant food supply stable and affordable. We encourage the Administration to maintain the agreement and avoid new tariffs to help keep menu prices and operator costs in check,” Kennedy said.
These priorities put the association in an ambiguous position relative to the Trump administration ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The White House has made harsh immigration a cornerstone of domestic policy and initiated the current uncertainty in international trade regulations with its Liberation Day tariffs last April. But Trump has been vocally supportive of the CCCA and backtracked on many of the tariffs. The Supreme Court of the United States on Friday found the imposition of many of the tariffs exceeded the president’s statutory authority and scrapped the measures.
Swipe fees and immigration were important priorities during the Biden administration. But the NRA’s political strategy also hinged on defeating the expansion of joint employer rules — which treat franchisors as employers of franchisee workers in some circumstances — and on efforts to preserve the tip credit.
