Nike and Under Armor, among others, urge Trump to remove shoes from the price list

(Reuters) – US shoe companies, including Nike Inc. and Under Armor, urged US President Donald Trump on Monday to remove shoes from the proposed tariff list for products imported from China.

"The proposed 25% additional rate on shoes would be catastrophic for our consumers, our businesses and the entire US economy," said a group of 173 companies in a letter.

Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports to $ 200 billion, from 10% earlier this month to 25%, an increase in prices on thousands of products, including clothing, furniture and electronics.

Trump is expected to impose 25% tariffs on Chinese products worth an additional $ 300 billion when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month.

"As an industry facing a $ 3 billion customs bill each year, we can assure you that any increase in the cost of importing footwear has a direct impact on the US consumer of footwear," he said. businesses.

The letter was also sent to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow.

The Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA) Group estimates that the rate increase would result in additional costs of $ 7 billion for customers each year.

The companies noted that tariffs on shoes increased on average to 11.3% and reached 67.5%. Adding a 25% tax increase to these rates would mean that Americans could pay a tariff of almost 100% on their shoes, the companies said in the letter.

Last week, the largest retailer in the world, Walmart Inc., warned that its prices would rise due to higher tariffs on products from China and that taxes were already burdening its furniture business.

Macy's also stated that the rates adopted on May 10 had an impact, particularly on its furniture business.