Trade Association Chief Warns U.S. Days Away From ‘Retail Armageddon’

With the latest round of tariffs on a wide swath of goods from China set to hit Sunday, the head of a major trade association representing the apparel and footwear industry is warning the United States is fast approaching “retail Armageddon.” “If we get hit with these tariffs, this is a one way ticket to retail ugly,” Rick Helfenbein, CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, told Fox Business. Beginning Sept. 1, the Trump administration will slap 15% tariffs on $300 billion in products imported from China. The duties scheduled to take effect in the coming days will hit 92% of apparel and 53% of footwear imported from China. The goods were initially supposed to be taxed at 10%, but President Trump hiked the tariffs after Beijing announced it would impose its own retaliatory duties on $75 billion in U.S. products. A second round of levies set to go into effect Dec. 15 will also be hit with a 15% tax and will affect $51 billion in apparel, footwear, and textile products. Read more at Washington Examiner.