Designers, Retailers & Collectors Getting Ready For Sneaker Tariffs

Devlin Carter created his luxury sneaker company, SIA Collective, six years ago and built it into a multimillion-dollar brand by providing fashionable, high-quality footwear manufactured mostly in China. But the Trump administration’s tariffs have raised the cost of importing goods from many countries, including China, to the United States.  And Carter is incensed. The sneaker industry is a $70 billion-a-year enterprise. And with almost no sneakers manufactured in America, the latest tariffs Trump has imposed have the industry — and the global economy — reeling, generating a ripple effect that puts the future of many small sneaker companies in jeopardy, Carter said.  “And it’s all unnecessary,” he said.

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Economist Peter Schiff said on X

Nike won't build factories in the U.S. to make sneakers. That would add more cost than the 40% tariffs. Plus, they need to stay competitive selling to customers in other countries that don't impose tariffs. The result will be fewer sneakers sold in the U.S. at much higher prices.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 3, 2025

It’s not just the independent producers like Carter who are figuring out what to do next. Even sneaker behemoth Nike faces challenges, as most of its goods are produced in Vietnam, which was hit with a 46% tariff, and Taiwan, with a 32% tariff on goods sent to the United States. A reporter asked Trump on Monday whether the American public’s “pain threshold” could handle the impact of his tariffs. “I think your question is so stupid,” Trump told the reporter. “I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”  The tariffs threaten economic stability in general and especially small-business owners like Carter, who relies heavily on shipments from countries like China, where 90% of his shoes are produced. His shoes go for an average of around $220 a pair, he said.

Source: NBC News