Some of the biggest footwear brands and retailers in the world have signed a letter to US President Donald Trump, urging an end to the country's trade war with China.
Nike, Adidas, Clarks, Dr Martens and Converse are among the list of 173 businesses to describe the recent hike on trade tariffs as "unfathomable". They say the move, which saw tariffs on goods imported from China increase from 10% to 25%, will disproportionately impact the working classes.
The letter warns that the footwear industry already pays $3 billion in duty every year. The businesses claim that the average US firm pays an 11.3% tariff on footwear, but stressed that in some cases it can be over 67%.
The companies said: "Adding a 25% tax increase on top of these tariffs would mean some working American families could pay a nearly 100% duty on their shoes."
Mr Trump has used the tariffs to encourage more companies to manufacture their products in the US. And while many footwear companies have started to move away from Chinese production, the letter says: "Footwear is a very capital-intensive industry, with years of planning required to make sourcing decisions, and companies cannot simply move factories to adjust to these changes."
The companies added: "On behalf of our hundreds of millions of footwear consumers and hundreds of thousands of employees, we ask that you immediately stop this action to increase their tax burden. Your proposal to add tariffs on all imports from China is asking the American consumer to foot the bill. It is time to bring this trade war to an end."
