Footwear Distributors Association of America urges its members to leave China

Footwear Distributors of America President and CEO Matt Priest said it's time for U.S. shoe companies to diversify their operations and seek options outside of China as U.S.-China tensions hit an all-time high. com.

“It's hard to imagine a time when relations between the two countries were more risky, at least in our lifetime,” Priest said. - It all started with the fact that the Trump administration was very openly opposed to the role of China in various sectors of the economy. While former President Trump was not unique in his criticism of China's engagement with the world, it led to the tariffs we are still dealing with today."

He noted that no active negotiations to reduce tariffs are foreseen at the moment. "We are in an environment where relations are not going to get better anytime soon, they are likely to get worse."

Priest advises its members to look for other places to locate production. Today, almost 60% of US footwear imports still come from China, he said. “While this is rather low over the past few decades, our industry is still highly dependent on China,” he explained.

Priest urges FDRA members to "think strategically about diversifying supply" and to set long-term goals and avoid China as much as possible.

Many American shoe companies, abandoning production in China, choose Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia for themselves. It's time for American shoe brands to find new factories, figure out pricing and quality control to move production out of the Middle Kingdom, Priest said.