SFIA STATEMENT: Proposed Tariffs Target Sports Bags and Baseball, Softball, Hockey and Ski Gloves

SILVER SPRING, MD (July 11, 2018) — In response to President Trump’s request for $200 billion in new tariffs on Chinese products, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a proposed list of products imported from China that could face new tariffs. While most sports equipment, apparel and footwear are not listed, the new package of potential tariffs include sports bags and baseball, softball, hockey and ski gloves. This round of proposed tariffs would apply a 10 percent additional tax on products.

“SFIA believes a trade war will hurt American consumers, businesses and workers. It’s not clear how this gets resolved once it starts,” said SFIA CEO and President, Tom Cove. “We do not support this approach to trade and encourage the president to use alternative negotiating tactics to secure concessions from China to ensure a fair playing field.”

Now that the USTR list is complete, there will be a review process, where companies will be given an opportunity to petition the government to exempt their products from the new tariff. SFIA will organize petitions for member companies to request exemption from the proposed tariffs.

Please contact Bill Sells at bsells@SFIA.org for additional information on the product exemption petition process.

ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.

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