Adidas joins int'l footwear brands urging U.S. to drop tariffs on Made in China products
Lin Nan
["north america"]
02:05
German sportswear manufacturer Adidas has co-signed an open letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to drop tariffs on "Made in China" footwear and put an end to its trade war with Beijing.
More than 170 international shoe retailers referred to Washington's measures as "catastrophic," and Adidas joining the call marks a sharp turn-around from how it viewed the China-US trade dispute just a year ago.
The CEO of Adidas Kasper Rorsted said, "If you are a global company, you have to upgrade that environment. And also well-being, people want to look smart, they want to dress cool, and this is not politically relevant."
But American consumers may have to now fork out more for looking smart and dressing cool, after the U.S. president threatened to impose tariffs as high as 25 percent on Chinese goods, including all types of footwear, from sneakers to sandals. While footwear production has generally moved away from China to southeast Asia in recent years, China still remains an industry giant.
International footwear brands have gradually moved away production lines from China to Southeast Asia in recent years. /Adidas Photo

International footwear brands have gradually moved away production lines from China to Southeast Asia in recent years. /Adidas Photo

Adidas opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai this March, hoping to share more Chinese trends and products with the rest of the world. And the German footwear maker believes they made the right choice.
"China is moving from an export to become a creator, we want to make sure that we take that creation position that China has, and export it not only to the rest of Asia, but also the rest of the world," Rorsted said.
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, the trade organization for footwear industry in the U.S., says consumers will ultimately feel the burn to the tune of seven billion U.S. dollars a year. Many believe the extra cost feels like a giant stone in their shoe.
A Chinese consumer said, "In the end, it's the consumers who have to pay the bill."
"Ordinary consumers are the most innocent. If I have to pay the extra cost, I don't think it's fair," another consumer said. 
Nike, Under Amour, Puma and many other major brands co-signed the open letter, urging Trump to bring this trade war to an end.