– We were preparing for a potential scenario in which we would have to get goods out of China faster. And so, we've been putting this plan into action since yesterday morning, Edward Rosenfeld, president of the Steve Madden shoe company, told analysts during a conference call on Thursday.
An American company is fleeing China
This escape is preparation for new President of the United States. During the campaign, Donald Trump stated very clearly and repeatedly that he intended to introduce tariffs on all goods imported to the United States. In the case of China, rates of up to 60 percent have been reported, while for the “rest of the world” rates of 10-20 percent may be considered. Currently, tariffs on Chinese goods reach a maximum of 30-50%. They were introduced by Donald Trump during his previous term, and the current president, Joe Bidenhe didn't change them much.
Steve Madden is a company worth 3 billion dollars and like every shoe manufacturer, it relies on imports, 70 percent of which comes from China. Hence, as the president emphasized, it has been for some time time was preparing for the need to “evacuate” Chinese exports.
Donald Trump and trade wars
Donald Trump is openly protectionist when it comes to economic policy. At least he is like that in his announcements, but past experience shows that he will want to repeat the previous line, and probably strengthen it even further. This means imposing tariffs, which will probably be met with actions by other countries and will lead to a situation known as a trade war. The US has already conducted it with China, now it can also open a European front. The EU is trying to react pre-emptively, suggesting its readiness to take actions that are beneficial to the Americans – buying larger amounts of American gas. We write about it in this text: Zis starting. This is how the EU wants to do business with Trump. An offer for the USA was proposed.
Trump's goal is to get production back to American factories. But tariffs won't necessarily help. It is not that easy to move industry from places where production is simply cheap to where it is more expensive and where there may no longer be adequate labor force. And the Steve Madden company does not intend to return to production after moving from China to the USA – it is focusing on several countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil – reports CNN.