Tariffs Could Rise for U.S. Apparel and Footwear Makers
Making apparel in the United States may get a little more expensive this year if certain yarns and fibers are imported from abroad.
Before breaking for the holidays, Congress failed to renew a temporary duty suspension that went into effect in 2006 and expired on Dec. 31, 2009.
The Miscellaneous Tariff Bill covered more than 500 apparel and footwear components that are no longer made in the United States or do not cost more than $500,000 in lost revenues to U.S. companies.
Now, manufacturers bringing in components after Jan. 1 are faced with duties that range from 4 percent of the value of carded cashmere yarn to 10 percent for artificial-filament single yarn, other than sewing thread, of viscose rayon.
Many footwear components and footwear with certain components are losing tariff exemptions, resulting in a 37.5 percent tariff on women’s footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastic, with the exception of vulcanized rubber and footwear with waterproof molded bottoms.
The House introduced a bill in late December to extend the tariff exemptions for three more years but failed to pass it before adjourning for the rest of 2009. The Senate hasn’t introduced a bill yet. If Congress does pass a bill later this year, it could make the exemptions retroactive to Jan. 1, allowing importers to be reimbursed for the duties they paid after Jan. 1.—Deborah Belgum
