Columbia Sportswear braces itself for new wave of tariffs
26/11/2018
However, in recent comments to the New York Times, the company said it is bracing itself for the next wave of tariffs, which it thinks will have a greater impact on its supply chain, particularly on footwear made in China.
“We’ve had probably two meetings a day on that, every day, for the last two months,” Emily Vedaa, Columbia’s global trade manager, told the newspaper. “How can we soften the blow?”
Questions it is asking itself include how quickly it can ship product from factories in China to the US after new tariffs are announced, but before they kick in. It is also examining ways in which it can ramp up production in Vietnam and make fewer products in China.
Chief executive, Tim Boyle, has said in recent comments that the hope of US president, Donald Trump, that higher tariffs will encourage US-based brands to manufacture on home soil again are misplaced. Mr Boyle said production costs in the US would be too high and that too much of its past expertise in producing apparel and footwear has now disappeared.
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