Footwear Insight

8 • Footwear Insight ~ May/June 2019 footwearinsight.com Tariff Uncertainty Heading into Show Season By Bob McGee and Jennifer Ernst Beaudry T he trade saga took another turn in early May when President Donald Trump announced that he would impose higher tariffs on China-made goods that had previously been exempt — including footwear and out- door gear — causing ripples of uncertainty through the industry ahead of the summer show season as China announced that it would raise tariffs in retaliation on $60 billion of U.S. imports beginning June 1. (Higher duty rates will eventually result in higher retail prices for consumers in both countries as any duty hikes are passed on.) On May 10, with no secure trade deal in place, the U.S. began raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 per- cent from 10 percent, with the remaining $325 billion worth of additional goods imported from China under threat of the same rate. Industry groups immediately opposed the move, saying it would adversely impact sales. The Outdoor Industry Association said the shift will impact backpacks, sports backs, leather ski gloves, camp stoves, camp chairs, b i k e s a n d b i c y c l e parts. Meanwhile, the Footwear Distributors a n d R e t a i l e r s o f America is urging its members to Tweet "No New Shoe Tariffs!" to the president, citing the $2.99 billion in duties the footwear industry paid in 2018. "Higher costs for our consumers means we sell less shoes," pointed out Matt Priest, FDRA's president and CEO. "This threatens jobs in our industry and could put U.S. footwear companies out of business." Trump has made increasing tariffs and imposing trade sanctions for goods manu- factured overseas a key plank of his platform since taking office in 2017; footwear firms have been taking precautionary measures including bringing in goods ahead of sched- ule, rethinking feature and material choices, and revamping their sourcing networks to rely less on China. l Has the import outlook affected your spring '20 plans? If you're a retailer or vendor who has changed your outlook or taken steps to adapt to a changing tariff picture, we want to hear from you. Email jbeaudry@formula4media. com or tweet us at @footwearinsight and let us know what you're doing. TRADE CONCERNS THE FOOTWEAR EYE "Higher costs for our consumers means we sell less shoes. This threatens jobs in our industry and could put U.S. footwear companies out of business." Matt Priest, FDRA president and CEO. No Silica gel , clay, or biocides CAPTURES and ISOLATES MOISTURE in excess of 200-450% of its dry weight Prevention is better than cure Michael Hanrahan > > michael@superdryers.com (201) 679 4703 Steve Ryan > > steve@superdryers.com (312) 371 5438 Alex Chisholm > > alex@superdryamericas.com (904) 210 8602 MOLD? MOISTURE DAMAGE? AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE For orders in the Americas : w ww . s up e r d r y e r s . c o m

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