“Buy American,” is the tagline for the third annual US Made in America Week. The administration of US President Donald Trump conducts a marketing campaign to revive domestic production in the country. We are also talking about the production of shoes, since at present only 1% of shoes sold in the country are made in the USA, Footwearnews writes.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump issued another declaration calling for tribute to the efforts of American entrepreneurs, workers and farmers in revitalizing the economy.
Since last year, when Trump first initiated a trade dispute with Beijing, his administration set new tariffs on imports of Chinese goods in the amount of 25% at $ 200 billion. Beijing, in turn, responded to this step by setting retaliatory duties from 5 to 25% for US goods at the amount of $ 60 billion. The confrontation between the two sides subsided only last month, during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka.
After this meeting, the US leader overturned the decision to introduce another 25% tax on imports of goods from China, which would affect clothing, shoes and accessories.
Currently, in the US, only 1% of the shoes sold in the country are made in the USA. This is a fairly wide range, which includes work shoes, sports sneakers, sandals, clogs, classic handmade loafers. The most serious development in the country was the segment of military shoes.
Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), is skeptical of the suggestion that Trump’s marketing policies could influence the increase in American demand for domestic products.
“The basis of the purchase decision is the demand and willingness of American citizens to pay for the product,” he argues, noting that shoes made in the US are more expensive. - In most cases, people cannot afford to pay for the labor component, which is included in the price of American-made shoes. That is why in the USA only 1% of shoes sold in the country are produced. “I do not think that the situation will change significantly in the near future, despite all the attention to this issue of the administration.”
Shoe makers in the US also doubt that political statements could influence the decision to buy US consumers. However, they welcome any additional support in promoting their products.
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