US shoe importers on course to pay an extra $2 billion in tariffs this year
Industry body Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) has said the tariff announcements of 2025 are likely to cost its member companies an extra $2 billion this year.
In comments to media in mid-September, FDRA chief executive, Matt Priest, said the organisation’s 500 member companies were already paying around $3 billion per year to import footwear into the US.
He said this figure was on course to reach $5 billion in 2025.
Mr Priest said some retailers in the US had asked about possible refunds on extra tariffs they have already paid this year in the light of a court case challenging the legality of the increased rates.
In late August, a federal appeals court upheld an earlier lower-court decision that found that US president, Donald Trump, did not have the authority to impose new high levels of tariffs on trading partners.
But the White House has now asked the Supreme Court to hear a new appeal and FDRA is urging member companies not to bank on receiving refunds. Matt Priest said he was encouraging footwear importers not to get too excited until the matter is settled.
