Nike, Adidas, and the other leading footwear makers in the U.S. have urged Donald Trump to scrap his proposed tariffs on items imported from China. The sneaker retailers banded together to let the POTUS know that they are negatively affected by his move on the additional tariffs as the US-China trade war escalates.
The shoemakers aired their complaints and views on the China tariffs via an open letter that was published on Monday. The sneaker retailers told the president of the United States that the new taxes on imported shoes from China will be more "catastrophic" for the American consumers so he must take back the order now.
"On behalf of our hundreds of millions of footwear consumers and hundreds of thousands of employees, we ask that you immediately stop this action to increase their tax burden," the retailers' group stated. "Your proposal to add tariffs on all imports from China is asking the American consumer to foot the bill. It is time to bring this trade war to an end."
The companies went on to point out that American families will suffer if the trade war will continue and get worse. Businesses may also go down due to the tariffs so they want Trump to stop the threats on trade now.
"Any action taken to increase duties on Chinese footwear will have an immediate and long-lasting effect on American individuals and families," the companies said. "It will also threaten the very economic viability of many companies in our industry."
As per Reuters, the note was also addressed to US-China chief negotiator Robert Lighthize, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. 173 footwear brands and shoe retailers have signed the letter to President Trump so they are expecting that their request would be heard and granted.
The Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA) believes that the proposed new tariffs will create an additional cost of around $7 billion for the customers to bear every year. The group noted that the tariffs on footwear have increased to as much as 67.5 percent when it was normally at 11.3 percent range only. With the extra 25 percent tax that was recently announced, the Americans might have to pay almost 100 percent duty on their shoes.
In any case, Nike revealed that 26 percent of their footwear and 26 percent of their apparel were made in China as per the 2018 filing records so it is acknowledging the importance of the Chinese country in carrying out their business. "China is an important sourcing country and consumer market for us," Nike admitted in the filing, CNN reported. Meanwhile, the tariffs resulted from the US-China trade war that escalated after Trump threatens to raise tariffs to as much as 25 percent on Chinese goods.
