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Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said he knows why representatives of the hundreds of brands on the trade-show floor at MAGIC don’t want to comment on tariffs — they’ve seen the repercussions of speaking out against President Donald Trump.

“When Macy’s moved out Trump merchandise, the president had some negative comments about Macy’s,” he said. “When Nordstrom threw the Ivanka line out, he had some negative comments about that. When one of the major athletic brands started talking about some of the things the president was interested in, there was a lot of blowback from the athletes that were represented.”

products by 40 to 48 percent, likely lengthened the duration of the Great Depression.

“And whether the tariffs happen or not at this point for our industry, the damage will not go away,” he said. “You’ll live with that damage for 10 or 20 years.”

While not currently being hit directly, prior to the imposition of additional tariffs by the Trump administration, imports of clothes, shoes, textiles and travel goods represented 6 percent of total imports but accounted for 51 percent of the tariffs collected, the association’s data say.

In dollar terms, if all of products are hit with a 25 percent tariff as has been threatened, association leaders estimate higher prices on goods, shoes and clothing from U.S. retailers.

“It should be noted that the broad categories of apparel and footwear are not currently being hit in the trade war, with the exception of specialty products like hats and leather apparel,” added association communications manager Alexander Gibson.

“That said, all travel goods, such as handbags, luggage, wallets, and backpacks, are being hit with the 10 percent punitive tariff currently. Of course, this is an important part of our industry,” he said.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.