MAXIMUM ALERT to the possible rise in taxes on imports of European footwear in the US

The intention of the United States to increase tariffs on the import of footwear produced in the aforementioned European countries, has put this industrial sector in suspense, with unforeseeable consequences.

The Americans use the probable tariff measure to pressure and deactivate the collection of the Google rate, a digital tax on international technology companies with activities in the old continent, which the Europeans want to charge.

The situation has caused deep concern among footwear producers in Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and France, since if the measure were to materialize, it would excessively raise costs and close the doors to the American market.

At the same time, US importers and the entire sector that markets European products would also be affected by this decision.

To obtain more details on the situation and establish a projection of the conflict, the Spanish Footwear Magazine, in its May 4 edition, interviewed Matt Priest, president of the FDRA, the American organization that brings together the most important links in the footwear chain, including manufacturers, retailers, distributors, representatives and importers.

In the interview, the entity's leader stated that "we absolutely oppose any new tariff on footwear in Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Regarding the degree of veracity of the threat from the United States government, he pointed out that “it may increase tariffs as a result of its research on taxes on digital services. The question now is if you really want to increase them and, if so, by how much. Our hope is that with the new administration under the presidency of Biden, tariffs on the importation of footwear will not increase, at least while they are negotiated in the environment of the OECD -Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-. We take as real all threats to impose additional tariffs. In recent years they have shown their negative effects ”.

“My expectation is that they do not use this process to hinder negotiations with the OECD. That said, we can't leave anything to chance. That is why we have presented arguments against the tariffs and have testified in a hearing on behalf of the US footwear industry that opposes the tariffs. We take these threats very seriously. "

Regarding how the new tariffs would affect US footwear retailers and distributors, he added that “as an import tax applied to US companies, it would increase costs on consumers in your country. The logic behind this measure is to increase taxes on American companies because our government is concerned about other taxes levied on American companies. Has no sense! If the tariffs are approved, we could see an increase in the price of Spanish footwear, in particular, in the United States of almost 1,000 percent. With all certainty, its effect on Spanish manufacturers would be very negative ”.

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