Tariff plan likely to hike cost of hiking and skiing

Trump’s proposal could cause industry to stumble

That essential gear for playing in Colorado might soon get pricier.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a punitive tariff plan targeting products imported from China. The proposal to impose $50 billion in retaliatory tariffs on a wide swath of China-made consumer goods sold in the U.S. could not only trigger a trade war between the world’s top economic powers, but drastically increase the cost of technical outdoor gear, potentially hobbling the $887 billion outdoor recreation economy.

“Outdoor products already face one of the highest tariffs out there, and now you are going to add another 25 percent? This has the potential of being a devastating blow,” said Alex Boian, the vice president of government affairs for Boulder’s Outdoor Industry Association.

Trump did not identify specific products, which are expected to be announced in coming weeks. But the outdoor industry moved quickly to try to head off new tariffs on its products.

A spike in tariffs on products imported from China would pinch manufacturers, who likely would raise prices of high-end gear.

The tariff proposal would increase fees by 25 percent paid on goods imported from China. When compounded with wholesaler, distributor and retailer costs, the mark-up can climb as much as 75 percent, said Boian. So that $100 increase tariff on a $400 ski jacket — which already has a duty rate of 27.7 percent — ends up costing the consumer as much as $300 more after a distributor doubles the price and a shop owner adds their costs.

“It’s going to hit the American consumer hard,” Boian said.

The outdoor industry pays steep tariffs applied by the U.S., with an average rate of about 17 percent. A consortium of 17 apparel, travel goods, footwear and fashion associations this week sent Trump a letter pointing out those substantial import tariffs, including 37.5 percent on hiking boots, 27.7 percent on ski jackets and 17.6 percent on backpacks.

“Mr. President, last year you signed into law a sweeping tax cut that will reduce the taxes paid by many Americans and position our country for unparalleled economic growth. We are concerned that many of those gains could be eliminated through the inflationary and job destroying effects of these new tariffs, undermining your pro growth agenda that benefits American workers and their families,” reads the letter.

In 2017, China accounted for about 41 percent of all apparel, 72 percent of all footwear and 84 percent of all travel goods imported into the United States, the industry said.

China on Friday responded to Trump’s announcement by rolling out its own tariffs on U.S. goods such as meat, fruit and steel products.

Trump’s punitive tariff plan followed a recent U.S. Trade Representative report that showed China stealing American intellectual property. Trump ordered the representative to compile a list of products subject to the tariffs within the next 15 days, which will include a public comment period to identify some products that could be excluded from the list.

The outdoor industry’s lobbyists are hammering D.C. right now, pushing hard to get outdoor apparel, footwear, backpacks, sleeping bags and tents excluded from the list. Tensions have been high between the industry and the administration since it stripped land from two national monuments in Utah.

The tariff plan doesn’t make sense, said Bill Gamber, the owner of Steamboat’s Big Agnes, which enlists a variety of manufacturers across Asia to make innovative sleeping bags, tents and apparel.

“The added costs are going to go right to the consumer. It’s not like people in the outdoor industry are making a fortune. We aren’t playing with huge margins,” Gamber said.

The tariffs could make the higher-end outdoor gear astronomically pricey.

“This really could impact the better gear companies for sure,” Gamber said.