Shoe Brands Unite Against Trump as Chinese Tariffs Will Hurt Business

Written by adminMay 22, 2019
Uncategorized

While President Trump is fully content putting full pressure on China for a new deal, that pressure is returned back onto U.S. businesses. Tariffs hurt everyone. They make everyday products we buy and sell much more expensive. In that way, tariffs are taxes. Both the Chinese and U.S. citizens are feeling the crunch as this trade war continues between the two largest economic powers the world has ever seen.

One industry reeling from this latest round of tariffs are shoe companies. They feel as if adding a 25% tariff on footwear to the $300 billion worth of Chinese goods is ‘catastrophic’. So, 170 footwear companies got together and wrote a letter to the president to convince him not to add their products to the list.  

“As leading American footwear companies, brands and retailers, with hundreds of thousands of employees across the U.S., we write to ask that you immediately remove footwear from the most recent Section 301 list published by the United States Trade Representative on May 13, 2019. The proposed additional tariff of 25 percent on footwear would be catastrophic for our consumers, our companies, and the American economy as a whole,” the letter states.

Tit for Tat Trade War

As President Trump threatened to increase more tariffs after China wasn’t giving in to his trade deal, China decided to retaliate. They stuck $60 billion worth of U.S. goods with a tariff on their own. Both sides escalating each other is even worse news for consumers. These tariffs are set to take place on June 1st.

Some of the big names who signed the letter include Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and Crocs. New Balance was one big name absent from the letter, as it’s believed their CEO is a Trump supporter. In the letter, these companies point out that the tariffs will hit hardest the most vulnerable consumers in the country.

“High footwear tariff rates fall disproportionately on working class individuals and families. While U.S. tariffs on all consumer goods average just 1.9 percent, they average 11.3 percent for footwear and reach rates as high as 67.5 percent. Adding a 25 percent tax increase on top of these tariffs would mean some working American families could pay a nearly 100 percent duty on their shoes. This is unfathomable,” the letter continued.

Made in China

It’s estimated that nearly 84% of all footwear sold in the United States is made in China. That means the entire footwear industry is set pay a heavy price. But one can already see President Trump’s response to the letter. He already told the steel and auto industries to make more products in the United States.

Relying on foreign companies to make cheap products is not his path to economic superiority or a way to create more U.S. jobs. That means Trump is less likely to give in to the demands by these shoe companies to exempt them from the tariff list. The economic impact is currently unknown, but everyone is hoping the two countries sign a new trade deal quickly.

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As Trump Increases Chinese Tariffs, Here’s What It Means for Us

Written by adminMay 13, 2019
Politics

The midnight deadline for the U.S. and China to create a new trade agreement has come and gone. While the trade talks continue, they still didn’t stop new increased tariffs from hitting. What was once a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports magically turned into a 25% tax.

China isn’t taking this situation lightly. They’ve already vowed to retaliate if a new deal isn’t struck soon. As you can imagine, these tariffs are hurting the Chinese economy. President Trump feels as if China has a major advantage over the U.S. They have what he calls a “very big imbalance” where they make a lot of money off of us and we make very little in return.

President Trump made his comments in several tweets:

“Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner – there is absolutely no need to rush – as Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars’ worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S. The process has begun to place additional Tariffs at 25% on the remaining 325 Billion Dollars. The U.S. only sells China approximately 100 Billion Dollars of goods & products, a very big imbalance.”

How this Impacts Us

While Trump says he’s in “no rush” to get a new trade deal done, it doesn’t just hurt the Chinese economy. The U.S. economy is being threatened as well. This is especially true if China keeps its promise to retaliate in the same manner. That means many products we buy every single day are about to become much more expensive.

“China deeply regrets that it will have to take necessary countermeasures,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement. Still, we might not see the weight of this change for a few more weeks. It will take about three weeks for the products currently sitting on Chinese freighters to make it over this way. It won’t be an immediate change.

What kind of impact can we expect? The largest bulk of the tariffs are on electronics, machinery, and car parts. They also extend into everyday products, like toilet paper, orange juice, clothing, iPhones, computers, and more. The president remains optimistic that this will be a good thing for the country and our economy.

“Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and watch! In the meantime, China should not renegotiate deals with the U.S. at the last minute. This is not the Obama Administration, or the Administration of Sleepy Joe, who let China get away with ‘murder!'” he tweeted.

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