Footwear bosses say TPP would strengthen US manufacturing
09/03/2016
The companies operate factories in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Oregon and say the TPP would "strengthen our domestic manufacturing facilities while adding new jobs for Americans in trucking, warehousing, retail and port logistics”.
They said: “We continue to manufacture in the US to meet the needs of specific market segments, but in order to remain competitive, we also import large numbers of shoes to meet the diverse demands of American footwear customers. Rather than help us keep manufacturing jobs, these tariffs today only serve as an added cost in our supply chains and a hidden tax on American consumers. In addition, international tariffs from countries like Japan restrict our ability to export shoes to new consumers.
“The hundreds of thousands of Americans employed in the US footwear industry, including those who work in our factories in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, depend on the ability of our companies to remain globally competitive and deliver footwear to consumers all over the world. We strive to make the most innovative products and provide the greatest value to consumers, but struggle with a complex and outdated tariff system here in the US and abroad.
“TPP would greatly benefit our industry, because it would reduce some of the outdated duties that limit footwear job creation. The savings that TPP would provide to our industry - $450 million in the first year alone and $6 billion over the first decade - could be used to strengthen our domestic operations. Further, lowering barriers in foreign markets through TPP means that we could see meaningful growth in footwear exports. By both lowering costs on our imported products and allowing us to sell more of our American-made footwear abroad, our companies would be stronger financially and would be able to invest back into our domestic operations."
The TPP - an agreement between Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, the US, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and Japan - has been agreed, but still needs to be ratified through governments before it comes into force.
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