Now that the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has turned Trump's higher tariff tweets into official policy, over 350 retailers and business groups are warning that higher prices and job losses are coming.
There will be no way for average American consumers to "escape the harm that comes from these tax increases," they say.
More than 200 U.S. footwear companies on Wednesday said the added 15% duties on shoes would come on top of tariffs that already average 11% and reach 67% on some shoes, boosting costs for consumers by $4 billion every year.
“Imposing tariffs in September on the majority of all footwear products from China - including nearly every type of leather shoe - will make it impossible for hardworking American individuals and families to escape the harm that comes from these tax increases,” the companies wrote in a letter to Trump.
More than 160 other business groups, including the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and Association of Equipment Manufacturers, also urged Trump to postpone the tariffs, warning they would hit Americans in the middle of the busy holiday shopping season.
With Trump's first tranche of tariffs on $350 billion in Chinese goods just three days away, there's been no sign at all that he's willing to postpone them.
Postpone them beyond what he has already postponed, that is. Trump delayed about half of his upcoming tariffs until December 15th, but that delay is unlikely to assuage anyone.
I'm personally in the market for a new pair of boots to wear this fall and winter so I now expect they will cost a little more. Virtually everyone reading this is probably in the market for something that will now cost more because of Trump's trade war.