Sports and Fitness Products Avoid New Tariffs

The White House recently announced new tariffs targeting Chinese-made products and steel & aluminum made in other countries, including the E.U. The new tariffs do not apply to sports and fitness products, but some of the tariffs on steel and manufacturing equipment could have a residual impact on domestic manufacturing.

The president suggests that the tariffs are to ensure free-trade that is fair, but the current arrangements with China and steel-exporting-countries are not good for the U.S. The imposition of 25% tariffs on certain imports are designed to level the playing field, but there is much debate over the effectiveness of this new tariff policy.

The additional $100 billion in tariffs that the president had previously requested have been put on hold, as China works to lower the trade imbalance with the U.S.

SFIA is very concerned that an additional $100 billion in tariffs would capture sports and fitness products, especially in footwear and apparel.