House lawmakers urge US trade officials to preserve footwear tariffs

A group of 19 House lawmakers is pressing U.S. trade officials to maintain existing footwear tariffs to protect U.S. companies as part of an Asia-Pacific trade deal.

Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), chairman of the House Trade Working Group, sent a letter signed by 18 of his colleagues to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk asking him to preserve existing tariffs on footwear imports in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). 

The move, lawmakers argue, would ensure that American companies, including New Balance, which is located in New England, can continue operations. 

“The footwear industry has been gutted by foreign imports, including those from Vietnam," Michaud said. 

"Our trade negotiators need to make sure that this trade deal doesn’t off-shore what’s left of our shoe manufacturers," he said. 

Michaud and his colleagues sent a similar letter last year in an uphill battle that literally pits New Balance against the rest of the footwear industry, which operates largely outside the United States and wants to see the tariffs either eliminated or phased out. 

Vietnam is the world’s second largest footwear exporter to the United States and one of nine countries that are a part of TPP negotiations. The nation is pushing the United States to remove footwear duties as part of the agreement.   

“Preserving U.S. tariffs is the only way the remaining American footwear companies can compete on a level playing field and keep jobs here in the United States," Michaud said. 

New Balance still produces about 25 percent, or 7 million pairs of shoes, here and is the only remaining athletic shoe company that manufactures footwear in the United States. 

The company and the lawmakers have been pressing to keep about about 20 duties they say will protect New Balance's five U.S. factories from closing and moving overseas — three in Maine and two in Massachusetts

The letter also urged the administration to include strong rules of origin in the agreement, requiring at least 55 percent of footwear products to come from TPP countries. 

Trade experts were uncertain as to whether negotiators in Dallas this week to discuss the trade agreement would discussing the tariffs.

“It is critical that we stop offshoring American jobs to our competitors," Michaud said. 

"Our trade negotiators must prioritize our manufacturing sector, especially as millions of Americans remain out of work and as we try to get our economy back on track," he said. 

The letter was signed by Reps. Richard Neal (Mass.), James McGovern (Mass.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Daniel Lipinski (Ill.), Niki Tsongas (Mass.), John Conyers (Mich.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Edward Markey (Mass.), William Keating (Mass.), Larry Kissell (N.C.), John Olver (Mass.), John Tierney (Mass.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Michael Capuano (Mass.), Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), Peter Welch (Vt.) and Heath Shuler (N.C.).