Nike & Other Sneaker Brands Ask Trump to Stop Footwear Tariffs
Nike, adidas, & Other Major Sneaker Brands Sign Letter Asking Trump To Stop Footwear Tariffs
As if launch days and already premium prices weren’t stressful enough for sneakerheads, the pending tariffs are about to pad that price tag even more.
But before those sneakers reach buyers, the manufacturers will have to incur those foreign taxes, and now they’re fighting back with an open letter to President Donald Trump, the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
Usually rivals, the world’s biggest footwear brands like Nike, Puma, adidas, Skechers, and dozens of others joined forces as the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA) asked Trump for a tariff exemption.
Trump is considering sidestepping the footwear industry’s tariffs, as the letter says they will be “hit particularly hard due to the nature of their industry and through no fault of their own.”
The letter argues that the footwear industry is already dealing with high tariffs, like children’s shoes, which are sometimes taxed as high as 37%. Coupled with the new reciprocal tariffs, the companies suggest that hardworking Americans may be forced to deal with an increased rate of “more than 150 percent to nearly 220 percent.” Those companies can’t absorb all those extra fees; the real victims are “lower and middle-income families.”
Trump’s tariff idea is his way of making more money and forcing companies to bring manufacturing back to the States, but as the letter explains, that’s not easy.
“These tariffs will not drive shoe manufacturing back to the U.S. It takes significant capital investment and years of planning to shift sourcing,” the letter reads. “The new tariffs in fact remove the business certainty that is needed to make these types of investments and erase almost all the necessary capital. There is also a reciprocal tariff on the machinery and materials needed to make footwear in the U.S.”
The letter warns that the situation is an “emergency that requires immediate action and attention” because smaller companies, workers, and consumers will soon feel the effects, including some who are already experiencing sticker shock over shipments currently arriving.
Signees think a “more targeted approach” regarding the tariffs will better support Trump’s mission of championing American manufacturing.
Birdies, Brooks, Crocs, Journeys, Stacy Adams, Steve Madden, and Under Armour are some of the other brands that backed the letter, signaling just how deep the issue could run.
