Footwear Tariff Updates: US Import Changes for 2025

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Tariff Updates

People's Republic of China

As of October 6, 2025, the United States has imposed significant tariffs on Chinese footwear, primarily under the Section 301 tariffs. An executive order in August 2025 extended a temporary tariff situation, setting a baseline rate of 30% on many footwear products, which is a pause on potentially higher rates and is set to last until November 10, 2025. This 30% tariff is applied on top of existing Most-Favored Nation (MFN) duties, which can range from 8.5% to over 48%. The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has noted that this creates significant uncertainty for American companies.

Existing Trade Agreements

In 2024, U.S. footwear imports from China were valued at $9.79 billion, representing about 53% of the total $27.3 billion U.S. footwear import market. This market share has decreased from 62% in 2019 as businesses diversify their supply chains to other countries like Vietnam and Indonesia. For the 12-month period ending July 2025, imports in the "Other Footwear" category alone amounted to approximately $259 million. There is no specific free trade agreement covering footwear between the U.S. and China; trade is governed by WTO rules and the aforementioned tariff schedules.

New Tariff Changes

The current policy as of October 2025 marks a shift from a relatively stable, albeit high, tariff environment to one of heightened volatility. Previously, the key tariff was the Section 301 tariff, which stood at 7.5% on top of MFN duties for several years. The recent change, stemming from a U.S.-China joint statement in May 2025, introduced a temporary baseline tariff of 30%. This represents a substantial increase from the prior 7.5% rate. Furthermore, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has denied nearly all footwear-specific exclusion requests, leaving the industry with little recourse against these elevated costs.

Vietnam

As of October 6, 2025, the United States has implemented a new tariff structure on footwear imported from Vietnam. Effective August 7, 2025, a 20% tariff is applied to most Vietnamese goods, including footwear, following a trade agreement reached on July 2, 2025. This policy also introduces a significant 40% tariff on goods that are transshipped through Vietnam. This measure aims to prevent circumvention of tariffs on goods from other nations like China and represents a major shift in trade policy.

Existing Trade Agreements

Prior to the new tariffs, the U.S. and Vietnam had a robust trade relationship in the footwear sector. In 2024, the total value of footwear imported by the U.S. from Vietnam was approximately $9.13 billion. Under the previous trade terms, the average tariff rate on Vietnamese footwear was about 13.6%. This established trade flow made Vietnam a critical manufacturing hub for many American footwear companies, which now face significantly higher import costs.

New Tariff Changes

The new policy marks a substantial increase from the previous average tariff of 13.6% to a flat 20% on Vietnamese footwear. This change was finalized after negotiations averted a much higher proposed 46% 'reciprocal tariff' in April 2025. The policy's roots can be traced to the Trump administration, which initiated a Section 301 investigation into Vietnam's currency practices in October 2020. While that investigation did not result in immediate tariffs on footwear, it signaled a more aggressive U.S. trade posture that has now culminated in the 2025 tariff implementation.

Impact on Industry Sub-Areas

Athletic brand powerhouses like Nike, Inc. and Under Armour, Inc., heavily reliant on Vietnamese manufacturing, face significant cost increases from the new 20% tariff.
Fashion and lifestyle brand owners such as Steven Madden, Ltd. and Tapestry, Inc. must now navigate higher import duties which challenge pricing in competitive market segments.
Diversified brand portfolios managed by firms like Wolverine World Wide, Inc. and Caleres, Inc. will experience varied impacts depending on each brand's specific sourcing from Vietnam.
Comfort and material innovators, including Deckers Outdoor Corporation (Hoka, Ugg) and Crocs, Inc., face added supply chain complexity due to their reliance on Vietnamese production.
Specialty footwear retailers, including Foot Locker, Inc. and Designer Brands Inc., are confronted with rising costs of goods, which may lead to higher consumer prices.
Sporting goods and general retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. must re-evaluate pricing strategies for footwear, a key revenue-driving category now affected by the new tariffs.

Trade Impacted by New Tariff

The new tariff impacts the vast majority of the $9.13 billion in footwear imported from Vietnam in 2024. This affects all major subcategories, including athletic footwear, fashion and lifestyle shoes, and comfort-focused brands. Major companies such as Nike, Inc., Skechers U.S.A., Inc., Deckers Outdoor Corporation, and retailers like Foot Locker, Inc. are all exposed to increased costs across their supply chains.

Trade Exempted by New Tariff

Currently, there are no specific subcategories within the footwear industry that have been exempted from the new 20% tariff on Vietnamese imports. While the executive order mentions exemptions for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and critical minerals, footwear is not included in this list, subjecting the entire industry to the new duties.

Indonesia

As of August 1, 2025, the United States has implemented a new 19% import tariff on footwear from Indonesia. This new duty, enacted under the Trump administration, adds to pre-existing baseline tariffs and follows negotiations that reduced an initial threat of a 32% tariff. The Indonesian footwear industry has expressed significant concern, prompting calls for cost-sharing agreements with US importers and a push to diversify export markets beyond the United States.

Existing Trade Agreements

Indonesia is a major footwear supplier to the United States, with exports valued at approximately $2.47 billion in 2024. The U.S. stands as the primary export destination for Indonesian footwear, making Indonesia the third-largest footwear exporter to the American market by volume, supplying 166 million pairs annually. In the first seven months of 2025, these exports already reached $1.57 billion, indicating a continued strong trade relationship in this sector prior to the new tariff implementation.

New Tariff Changes

The new tariff policy marks a significant departure from previous, more stable trade relations, reflecting the Trump administration's 'reciprocal tariff' approach. This strategy directly links import duties to bilateral trade deficits, such as the $17.9 billion deficit the U.S. had with Indonesia in 2024. The final 19% tariff was part of a broader agreement where Indonesia committed to purchasing U.S. energy and agricultural products. This transactional, bilateral approach contrasts with the multilateral trade frameworks that previously governed these trade interactions.

Impact on Industry Sub-Areas

Athletic brand powerhouses like Nike, Inc., Under Armour, Inc., and On Holding AG face increased production costs due to their heavy reliance on Indonesian manufacturing.
Fashion and lifestyle brands such as Skechers U.S.A., Inc., Steven Madden, Ltd., Tapestry, Inc., and Capri Holdings Limited will see higher costs for goods sourced from Indonesia.
Companies with diversified brand portfolios, including Wolverine World Wide, Inc., Caleres, Inc., and Weyco Group, Inc., will experience higher landing costs for their Indonesian-made products.
Comfort and material innovators like Deckers Outdoor Corporation and Crocs, Inc. will find their cost advantages from Indonesian manufacturing diminished by the tariff.
Specialty footwear retailers, including Foot Locker, Inc., Designer Brands Inc., and Genesco Inc., will face higher wholesale prices from brands that manufacture in Indonesia.
Major sporting goods and general retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc., Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc., and Hibbett, Inc. are impacted by increased costs passed down from athletic footwear brands.

Trade Impacted by New Tariff

The new 19% tariff is expected to impact the vast majority of footwear trade from Indonesia to the U.S. Given the broad application of the tariff, nearly the entire trade volume, which was valued at $2.47 billion in 2024, will be subject to the increased import costs. This affects all segments, from athletic to fashion footwear, sourced from Indonesian manufacturers.

Trade Exempted by New Tariff

Current information from trade announcements does not specify any exemptions for particular subcategories within the footwear industry. The tariff appears to be a blanket tariff applied broadly across all footwear imports from Indonesia, suggesting no specific products are exempt from the new duty.

Italy

As of October 6, 2025, the United States has implemented new tariffs affecting the Italian footwear industry. In April 2025, the Trump administration announced a universal baseline tariff of 10% on all goods, followed by an additional 10% on products from the European Union, totaling 20%. Subsequently, on August 7, 2025, a reciprocal tariff system established a 15% base tariff for EU imports. A significant component of this new policy is the elimination of the de minimis rule, which had allowed imports valued under $800 to enter the U.S. tax-free.

Existing Trade Agreements

The trade in footwear between Italy and the US is significant, with imports totaling $193 million in July 2025 alone. For the full year of 2024, Italian exports in the broader footwear and leather goods sectors to the US were valued at nearly €3 billion. Prior to 2025, trade agreements were based on the World Trade Organization's Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principle, which involved varying duty rates for different footwear categories. Additionally, the $800 de minimis exemption facilitated smaller-scale and e-commerce shipments without tax.

New Tariff Changes

The new tariff policy represents a substantial change from the previous system, which had varied duty rates often below 15% and a generous tax-free allowance for small shipments. The most significant change is the elimination of the $800 de minimis rule, subjecting all imports to duties. The introduction of a 15% reciprocal tariff cap for EU goods increases the duty for products that previously had lower rates, marking a clear shift toward protectionism. This change is intended to rebalance trade but has led to increased costs throughout the supply chain.

Impact on Industry Sub-Areas

Upstream (Design, Branding & Wholesale): Companies like Nike, Inc. and Tapestry, Inc. face increased landed costs as tariffs on their Italian-sourced footwear rise to a new 15% floor.
Midstream (Diversified & Integrated Operations): Firms such as Wolverine World Wide, Inc. and Deckers Outdoor Corporation must absorb or pass on higher costs as duties on their Italian-made products increase to the 15% level.
Downstream (Retail & Distribution): Retailers including Foot Locker, Inc. and Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. face higher wholesale prices for Italian footwear, likely leading to increased consumer prices due to the underlying tariff hike to 15%.

Trade Impacted by New Tariff

A large volume of Italian footwear exports, representing a significant portion of the $193 million imported in July 2025, is impacted by the new tariffs. The policy particularly affects leather fashion and luxury shoes, which typically had Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) duty rates between 8.5% and 12.5%. These products now face an increased duty to meet the new 15% total. Additionally, the elimination of the $800 tax-free threshold impacts all smaller-value shipments.

Trade Exempted by New Tariff

Under the reciprocal tariff framework effective August 7, 2025, footwear subcategories with an existing Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) duty rate of 15% or higher are exempt from the additional surcharges. This exemption applies to certain specialized footwear categories, such as some types of work boots, which were already subject to higher tariffs as specified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).

Cambodia

Effective August 1, 2025, the Trump administration implemented a "universal tariff reset," imposing a 19% tariff on all goods imported from Cambodia, including footwear. This policy resulted from negotiations where Cambodia granted zero-tariff access to over 11,000 U.S. export product lines and committed to strengthening intellectual property rights enforcement. The tariff aims to address the trade imbalance and align Cambodia's tariff rate with regional competitors like Indonesia and Vietnam. The Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC) acknowledged the new rate.

Existing Trade Agreements

The United States is a major market for Cambodian footwear, with imports totaling US$933.86 million in 2024. In the first five months of 2025, footwear exports to the U.S. reached approximately $310 million. The broader Garments, Footwear, and Travel Goods (GFT) sector represents a significant portion of Cambodia's exports to the U.S., accounting for over $5.2 billion in 2024. Previously, trade relations were partly governed by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provided preferential duty-free entry for many products but expired for Cambodia in 2021.

New Tariff Changes

The 2025 tariff policy represents a significant shift from previous arrangements, marked by considerable volatility. On April 2, 2025, the Trump administration initially announced a steep 49% reciprocal tariff on all Cambodian goods. Following diplomatic negotiations, this was revised down to 36% on July 8, 2025. The final agreement on July 31, 2025, established the current 19% rate, a significant de-escalation. This new universal tariff replaces the previous framework, which had been more favorable under programs like the expired Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

Impact on Industry Sub-Areas

Athletic brand powerhouses like Nike, Inc. and Under Armour, Inc. face increased product costs from the 19% tariff on their Cambodian-manufactured goods, potentially leading to higher consumer prices.
Fashion and lifestyle brand owners such as Skechers U.S.A., Inc. and Steven Madden, Ltd. will experience higher costs, pressuring profit margins and competitiveness.
Diversified brand portfolios like Wolverine World Wide, Inc. and Caleres, Inc. will find any production remaining in Cambodia more expensive, despite flexibility to shift manufacturing elsewhere.
Comfort and material innovators like Deckers Outdoor Corporation and Crocs, Inc. may be forced to absorb the 19% tariff cost due to difficulties in moving specialized production facilities.
Specialty footwear retailers such as Foot Locker, Inc. and Designer Brands Inc. will likely face higher wholesale prices from brands, resulting in increased shelf prices for consumers.
Sporting goods and general retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. will see increased costs on footwear sourced from Cambodia, making price increases for customers probable.

Trade Impacted by New Tariff

The entirety of the footwear trade from Cambodia to the U.S. is impacted by the new 19% tariff. Based on the most recent full-year data, this affects an import value of US$933.86 million as of 2024. All subcategories within the footwear industry, from athletic to fashion and specialty footwear, are subject to this new rate, increasing costs for U.S. importers and brands sourcing from the country.

Trade Exempted by New Tariff

The new 19% tariff is described as a "universal tariff reset" applicable to "any and all Cambodian products entering the United States." There is no official information or announcement from the U.S. government or industry bodies specifying any exemptions for particular footwear subcategories. Therefore, it is understood that no portion of the footwear trade is exempt from this new tariff.