President Trump is in the process of undermining the economy via actions which have long been an issue in the footwear industry. He is considering raising the tariffs on imports which primarily deal with the materials utilized and shipped into the U.S. for footwear manufacturing. The footwear industry has been attempting to offset the increasing tariffs via concepts like Speedfactory for adidas and Nike’s investment in the Air Manufacturing Facility in Missouri. These advancements by the brands aren’t enough to offset the fact that the majority of footwear sold in the U.S. is imported and as it stands right now footwear has some of the highest tariffs of any items imported into the U.S.
Last week Trump tweeted out that winning a trade war is easy… which is a complete simplification of a very difficult subject. FDRA (established by insiders in Washington D.C.) is on the front line of taking the government to task. They may be one of the few companies that can build a lobbying component beyond what already exists with Nike and their contingent in D.C. FDRA is building information that is easily shared to bring attention to the everyday person in advance of upcoming elections. FDRA has the ability to deliver the message to the brands to gain backing in a presentation to a congressman that is sympathetic to the materials and import associated with footwear which isn’t only footwear considering that the same dialogue is taking place in regard to aluminum and steel. Sen Ben Sasse, a senator in Trump’s own party had this to say, “Kooky 18th century protectionism will jack up prices on American families — and will prompt retaliation from other countries. Make no mistake: If the President goes through with this, it will kill American jobs — that’s what every trade war ultimately does. So much losing.” via The Independent.
I’m sharing this infographic from the FDRA. While the sneaker community rarely understands the information on situations like the TPP and tariffs in relation to footwear costs, it’s important that we take the time to share this information because as the next generation of sneakerheads become voters the costs incurred by brands will be passed on to the consumers. While Speedfactory and other manufacturing processes are returning to the U.S. they do so at a slow pace because the costs associated are prohibitive to providing footwear at reasonable prices. Here is the infographic. Please share and click the HOME link below to follow FDRA for more information:
