As tariff talks continue worldwide, the shoe-collecting community is preparing to see their beloved hobby suffer.
Amid ongoing talk of tariffs globally, discussion turned to whether Nike, arguably the most well-known sneaker company, would open factories in the United States. Noted economist Peter Schiff, in a post on X, said that this would not happen.
“Nike won’t build factories in the U.S. to make sneakers. That would add more cost than the 40% tariffs. The result will be fewer sneakers sold in the U.S. at much higher prices.” Schiff stated, as cited by Yahoo! Finance.
Sneaker industry media website footwearnews.com cited that half of Nike’s production emanates from Vietnam, which was subject to a 46% tariff before delays. Writer Ian Servantes assessed that this tariff cannot be directly applied to the cost for each pair.
“Nike will be asking the same question itself as it would be expected to work with its manufacturers and material suppliers to figure out how much each party would be willing to eat in its profit margins,” Servantes said. “It’s also not as simple as applying Vietnam’s 46% tariff to each product made there because parts of the sneaker could have been produced from other countries.”
The expectation for the end collector is that they will pay more at retail, which will greatly
impact their hobby.
“That pair of $180 sneakers is going to cost me $250 now,” Earl West, a sneaker collector, told
NBC News. “So I have to be very selective on what I’m going to buy and when because I can’t
afford to spend $250 on a pair of sneakers every other week.”
Jon Waldman is a Winnipeg-based writer. He has written for Beckett, Go GTS, Canadian Sports Collector, and several other hobby outlets over his two decades in the hobby. His experience also includes two books on sports cards and memorabilia. Connect with Jon on Twitter at @jonwaldman.
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