At the public hearings being held this week in Washington, D.C. over the latest round of proposed tariffs, the The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) reiterated the association’s call for a swift resolution and warned any additional tariffs would harm U.S. workers, companies, consumers and communities.
AAFA officials stated in part, “As an industry, we already pay 51 percent of all of America’s tariff receipts, even though we account for only 6 percent of all items that are imported,” the association explained. “We are heavily taxed, and we cannot afford further costs that would be arbitrarily imposed on our industry and on the American consumer.”
The organization said there would be a hidden tax on U.S. consumers, especially on the many consumer products that are included, harm the U.S. manufacturing base, tax U.S. global value chains and the American workers they employ and trigger continued retaliation by China, further eroding U.S. manufacturing opportunities.
“We are truly pleased to see that the Administration has started a dialogue with China. But let’s make sure this dialogue helps and does not come at the expense of U.S. workers, U.S. companies, U.S. consumers and U.S. communities,” the AAFA concluded.
The full statement is here.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) kicked off a week of public hearings on Monday in Washington, D.C. on the latest list of products from China that could face $200 billion in tariffs.
Hearings are being held between August 20 to 24 and on August 27, the USTR said in a statement. The USTR released a list of 359 people who will present testimony, representing a wide swath of U.S. companies producing goods ranging from home building supplies to technology products, bicycles and apparel.
The tariffs are expected to take effect in late September after a public comment period ends on September 5.
