Smith, Cantwell Work Together for Affordable Footwear
Press Release
Eliminating the Seventy Year Old Tax Would Help Lower the Cost of Children's Footwear
Northwest Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have unveiled legislation to eliminate an outdated tax exclusively applied to footwear that disproportionately impacts lower-income families with young children. The Affordable Footwear Act (S. 2372) will remove a regressive tax that raises the price of lower valued footwear and costs American families nearly $800 million a year.
"Parents should not have to pay an invisible tax every time they buy a pair of shoes for their kids," said Senator Smith. "Eliminating this outdated tax allows Oregon families to save money while taking care of their children."
"Eliminating unnecessary taxes for working families is critical," said Senator Cantwell. "By removing this outdated tariff, we will help make sure the benefits of trade are shared more widely. Our bill will make shoes more affordable for all Americans."
Currently, the U.S. applies a special tax, or tariff, on footwear imports. This tax originated in the 1930s to protect the American manufacturing sector from lower priced foreign competitors. Some of these tax rates are as high as 67.5 percent, causing retailers and American consumers to pay higher costs - up to 40 percent over the market value of the shoe. Most of the footwear is purchased for and worn by children at affordable retailers like Wal-Mart and Payless Shoes.
Domestic footwear production in the United States has nearly vanished except for a few footwear manufacturers that focus on specialty products. The Affordable Footwear Act has garnered broad bi-partisan support because it will keep tariffs on the specialty shoes manufactured in China, Indonesia and Vietnam but eliminate the outdated tariffs and excessive taxes on the lower cost footwear that does not compete with domestic production. This provision has won support from domestic footwear manufactures.
The Affordable Footwear Act will be reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee. Senators Smith and Cantwell will work together to advance the bill into law.
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