FDRA pushes for emphasis on high-end footwear jobs
29/02/2012
Four countries signed the original TPP multilateral free trade agreement in 2005, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. Their stated aims are to further liberalise the economies of the Asia-Pacific region. Six additional countries–Australia, Malaysia, Peru, Japan, United States, and Vietnam–are now negotiating to join the group.
In a statement on February 29, the FDRA said: "We urge Ambassador Kirk to push for footwear provisions that will spur competition, create jobs and provide more affordable shoes. The jobs in the US footwear industry today and in the future are well-paying innovation jobs, focused on cutting-edge design and performance technologies. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people in the US market, distribute, classify, stock and sell footwear every day. TPP should advance these high-end jobs."
The organisation said an effective TPP will also benefit consumers by eliminating duties and holding down footwear prices. "While the average import duty on consumer goods is only 1.4%," it continued, "footwear duties are on average 10 times higher and soar as high as 67.5%. This translates into a $600 million tax on shoes from TPP countries that makes no sense for families given that 99% of all shoes sold in the US are manufactured outside the country.
"If we cling to outdated restrictions that reflect the footwear industry of the 1950s, we will dampen innovation and harm working families. TPP has the opportunity to be a model trade agreement that benefits workers and families, and we strongly support this approach."
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