The National Retail Federation (NRF) testified before the US Trade Representative (USTR) against proposed tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday. The tariffs would result in “prices higher than many consumers would be willing to pay,” NRF said, according to a press release from the association.
NRF also released a new analysis of the tariffs, showing they “would be too large for US retailers to absorb” and could result in consumers paying $4.4 billion more for apparel every year, $2.5 billion more for footwear, $3.7 billion more for toys and $1.6 billion more for household appliances.
“For most of the consumer products on this list, there are very few alternative sources of supply,” NRF Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French said in his testimony. “It would be impossible for all market participants in our industry to simultaneously move sourcing to other countries. The capacity does not exist … In the short term, retailers would be forced to continue to use Chinese suppliers and pass on higher costs to their customers… just in time for the holiday shopping season…” RetailDIVE