The U.S. president is considering eliminating Section 301 consumer tariffs on Chinese goods that have raised prices for shoes and other basic consumer goods.
Easing those tariffs introduced by the Trump administration will help ease rampant U.S. inflation, with consumer prices rising 8.6% in May compared with a year earlier, according to monthly data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure was up from 8.3% in April and 8.5% in March and was the largest increase in 12 months since the period ended in December 1981.
In the past two days, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by 0.75%, the largest meeting since 1994.
The footwear and retail industries have been particularly vocal about wanting to see these tariffs repealed, especially given the recent spike in inflation. Shoe prices are now on track to rise at the fastest pace in decades in 2022, rising 4.5% in May compared to last year.
As a result, representatives of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) have sent multiple open letters to the Biden administration urging the repeal of the tariffs. In March, the FDRA called for those tariffs to be removed by Labor Day 2022 in a "truly successful fight against inflation."
"We are at a point where families face high cost increases for their children's shoes, as well as other household items," FDRA President and CEO Matt Priest wrote in a separate letter in May. "Removing the Section 301 tariff is a direct reduction in A clear solution to the current surge in children's shoe prices hitting American households."
According to the FDRA, 99 percent of all footwear sold in the United States is imported. Import duties of any kind force retailers to raise prices to cover costs.
In response to last week's latest inflation report, the National Retail Federation and the American Apparel and Footwear Association released statements.
AAFA President and CEO Steve Lamar denounced inflation as "unacceptably high" and implored "the President to provide relief to American consumers and to stop imposing onerous import taxes on everyday items like clothes, shoes and backpacks" ."
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said the group continues to "call on the administration to repeal unnecessary and costly tariffs on Chinese goods to relieve pressure on American consumers and their household budgets."
Last week, the NRF launched a publicity campaign aimed at repealing those tariffs. The campaign includes a 30-second TV ad titled "Reduce inflation now by scrapping tariffs." The NRF estimates that these tariffs have cost U.S. importers $136.5 billion since 2018 — the average American household loses more than $1,200 a year.