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On Wednesday, Trump announced a wide ranging series of reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from countries including China and Japan. But near the top of the list was a country you might not have thought about a lot in terms of its status as international power broker: Vietnam. With a 46% tariff, Vietnam is one of the hardest hit countries on the list. All sorts of goods are made there these days, including furniture and technological hardware. But the most sensitive industry may be apparel and performance footwearwith a special emphasis on footwear. Ninty-nine percent of all footwear sold in the U.S. is imported. And 50% of Nikes shoes are made in Vietnam, specifically. The country produces a significant number of shoes for the entire industry, including Adidas, On, Reebok, Deckers (which includes Hoka, Ugg, and Teva), and Brooks (the number one running brand in the U.S.). When asked how they planned to respond to this policy, none of these brands opted to comment for this story. Stock prices for Nike, Adidas, On Holdings, and Deckers each dropped approximately 15% following the announcement. It almost feels intentionally directed at the [performance footwear] industry, says David Swartz, senior equity analyst, consumer research, for Morningstar, who has called the tariffs potentially disastrous to the industry in an investor report published yesterday. (Disclosure: Morningstar and Fast Company share the same owner.) To be clear, Swartz sees no upside to this government decision, noting that the chances that any of this leads to substantial manufacturing of footwear and apparel in the U.S. are practically zero. And its another reason that he, like many others, simply cannot imagine that they will stick. Why the focus on Vietnam? Swartz recognizes that targeting Vietnam likely had less to do with the companies or industry being affected than it did the simple balance sheet math that drove Trumps tariffs. Vietnam does not import nearly the amount of goods from the U.S. that we do from them. But by any common sense, that imbalance is to be expected. The US economy is like 70x that of Vietnam, so it seems pretty obvious to me that Vietnam is going to buy fewer American products than we buy from them, but what do I know? says Swartz. I only have a masters degree in economics from Yale, so I dont know anything. While senseless on paper, the tariffs could have lasting repercussions on the industry if they stick. And the worlds biggest performance brands would have little recourse if that happened. The crux of the problem is that, since the 1990s, apparel and footwear has moved abroad. As Swartz explains, performance companies in particular invested billions of dollars into the roads, ports, factories, and rail lines that make up the complex supply chain feeding Vietnamese infrastructure. Its in everyones interest to keep these factories working. Vietnam relies on the business for their economy. Corporations rely on Vietnam to produce goods. Nike, for instance, doesnt own a single one of its factories globally. You cant just call a factory in India and say can you make 20 million of shoes for me, they don’t have the capacity, says Swartz. Idle factories dont exist globally. An unused factory is shut down, and its staff is fired. Furthermore, specialized production methods behind modern footwear dont exist everywhere. Sewing is simple. But injection molded foam composites, polymer production, and complex fabric weaving are other topics. A modern sneaker may have as many as 100 parts produced in different factories, and if any one component doesnt arrive in time, everything is slowed down. Building an infrastructure of factories with interdependent specialized production methodsand with workers skilled enough to operate themcan take years. So what about just shifting production across Asia? The tariffs are high about everywhere, and given the long lead time to set up necessary factories, Swartz doesnt believe it makes sense of any company to attempt to shift manufacturing to save a few percentage points in tariffs. And shifting the entirety of a business like Nike’s could take years. So what happens now? Officially, tariffs will begin on any products not on a boat from Vietnam by April 5th, according to the logistics firm Flexport. They expect consumers will see costs rise on goods as soon as April 9th. In the short term, shoes are going to keep being made. Swartz believes that the costs of these tariffs will be distributed between the factory, the brand, and consumers. The pain is gonna be spread out. I think certain companies are going to have more negation power than others. Let’s say Nike uses a factory for apparel or footwear, it works with that factory over potentially decades. They can negotiate with them[saying] we need to reduce what we pay you this year while tariffs are goingThe factory is not going to say, we wont work with Nike anymore. They can’t do that. They would go bankrupt. Smaller companies, and retailers like Macys and Kohls that produce many private label goods in Vietnam, could face less flexible factories. Their prices will either have to go up, or the thin margins of our struggling retailers will grow even thinner. Private label brands offer retailers excellent margins, which is why companies like Walmart and Target invest so much into their own lines of appliances, fashion, and home goods. (And yes, each sources private label goods from Vietnam.) Long term, no matter how things play out, Swartz sees no reality in which the industry caves and moves manufacturing to the U.S. He lists all sorts of reasons, ranging fro the price of labor (which he ballparks at $400/month for your average factory employee in Vietnama rate no American would take with our cost of living), to our lack of raw materials (90% of the world’s cotton is grown in one region of China), to our pure inability to produce these goods (the U.S. has but a handful of yarn spinning factories needed to produce textiles), to our own discomfort facing the environmental costs of consumerism. Dyeing alone takes giant amounts of water, notes Swartz. You couldnt even get it [here]. If someone said were going to start dyeing in Minnesota and were gonna drain this lake to get the water, Im pretty sure theyd say no. But in any case, Swartz imagines that, if tariffs dont change, were going to all see significantly higher prices on shoes and companies will ultimately sell less of them, especially in an economy already likely heading toward a recession. It may not be so easy for Nike to sell Lebron shoes if they have to raise the price from $180 to $240. They will sell less volume ultimately, says Swartz. Its basic supply and demand. Increase price, it reduces demand. Economic laws have not been changed.
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E-Commerce
Back in the summer of 2024, Boars Head recalled seven million pounds of deli meat that had been linked to a deadly listeria outbreak that spanned numerous U.S. states. That outbreak led to the deaths of multiple people and caused the company to shutter one of its processing facilities, which was located in Virginia. The recall led to a brand crisis for Boars Head, and by November 2024, when the outbreak was declared over, a total of 10 people had died, and 61 became sick. The event led to class action lawsuits against the company, one of which has now been settled. Heres what to know about the settlement and whether you can claim any compensation. Class action settlement Boars Head Provisions Co., Inc. has now agreed to settle a class action lawsuit related to the recall. The case, Pompilio, et al. v. Boars Head Provisions Co., Inc., was filed in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York. According to the official settlement website, the class action suit alleged that the recall economically harmed the plaintiffs. Its important to note that as part of the settlement, Boars Head has not admitted to any wrongdoing, as is common with most class action settlements. As part of the settlement, Boars Head Provisions Co., Inc. has agreed to pay claimants $3.1 million, minus court costs and other fees. Am I included in the settlement? You are included in the settlementand can make a claimif you meet the courts Settlement Class Member description. The court says a Settlement Class Member is All natural persons who purchased in the United States any Covered Products between the earliest date of manufacture of any Covered Product (May 10, 2024) and August 12, 2024 for personal, family or household use, and not for resale, except for any Excluded Persons. Excluded Persons are defined on the settlement website. How much can I get from the settlement? You are eligible to receive a portion of the settlement if you meet one of the following two criteria: You have proof of purchase for a product covered under the settlement. If you have proof of purchase for a covered product, you are eligible to receive the full purchase price for each unit of Covered Product listed on the Proof of Purchase, subject to adjustment as set forth below. You do not have proof of purchase for a product covered under the settlement. In this case, you can receive the average retail price for up to two (2) Covered Products claimed per Household, subject to adjustment as set forth below. The adjustments listed above can be found here in the settlements FAQ. How can I file a claim? The easiest way to file a claim is by using the claim form on the settlement website. The FAQ lists additional methods to file a claim. When do I need to file a claim by? Claims must be filed by May 16, 2025. That is also the date that class action members have until to exclude themselves from the class action lawsuit or object to it. The class action settlement is conditional upon the approval of the court. That hearing is expected to take place on August 13, 2025. Full details of the class action settlement can be found on the settlement website here.
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E-Commerce
Stellantis NV said on Thursday it was temporarily laying off 900 workers at five U.S. facilities and pausing production at one assembly plant each in Mexico and Canada, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs were announced. Trump broadened the tariffs to a 10% baseline on all imports on Wednesday, with higher rates for some countries. These levies followed 25% duties on all auto imports announced last week, which sent shock waves through the global auto industry. In a letter sent to employees on Thursday morning, Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’s chief operating officer for the Americas, said the company is “continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on our operations, but also have decided to take some immediate actions.” These included temporarily pausing production at some Canadian and Mexican assembly plants, affecting jobs at several of Stellantis’ U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities, he said. Shares of Stellantis, which locally makes only half of its U.S.-sold vehicles including Ram trucks and Jeeps, closed 9.3% lower in New York on Thursday. Shares of Ford, General Motors, and Tesla also fell sharply. Nearly half the cars sold last year in the U.S.the world’s largest importer of carswere brought in from abroad, according to research firm GlobalData. Stellantis said its Windsor Assembly, where the Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager minivans and Dodge Charger Daytona are made, will be down for two weeks while Toluca Assembly in Mexico, where the Jeep Compass and Jeep Wagoneer S are made, will be down for the month of April. About 4,500 workers at Windsor will be impacted by the idling. Workers at Toluca will continue to report to work and get paid but will not make vehicles, according to the company. “A horrifying consequence of Trump’s tariffs,” Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said on X, referring to the job cuts. “American workers are paying the price.” Romaine McKinney III, president of the local union chapter that represents workers at Stellantiss stamping plant in Warren, Michigan, said the tariff-related layoffs were troubling his members, especially as they saw GM adding jobs in the U.S. Its pure devastation, McKinney said, adding that morale is already low from a year of layoffs and buyouts that resulted from former CEO Carlos Tavaress costcutting strategy. The five facilities affected by the layoff include Stellantis’s Warren Stamping and Sterling Stamping plants as well as the Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant, and Kokomo Casting Plant, the company said. While McKinney understands it will take time for Stellantis to shift its output, he does not believe the automakerwhich supplies Canadian plants as well as U.S. oneshas to lay off U.S. workers in the meantime. Its completely unnecessary. Its a choice the company is making. The White House declined immediate comment on the Stellantis job cuts. Trump and his administration have said there would be short-term pain for Americans but have promised long-term economic gains with Trump’s plan. The White House said on Thursday that tariffs would ultimately boost U.S. industries and workers. “They can expect their wages to go up . . . There’s not going to be any pain for American-owned companies and American workers because their jobs are going to come back home,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told cable news network NewsNation on Thursday, referring to any impact from Trump’s tariff plan. NORTH AMERICAN INTERCONNECTIVITY While goods from Mexico and Canada that comply with a trade agreement between the three countries will largely remain exempt from tariffs under Trump’s order, auto exports and steel and aluminum fall under separate tariff policies. Automakers are scrambling to figure out how to respond and how much to raise prices, as customers rush to buy cars sitting in lots. The base U.S. tariff rate for automotive imports is 2.5%. Automakers importing vehicles from Canada or Mexico can deduct the value of U.S. parts from the 25% levy. In February, Stellantis said it was pausing work on its next-generation Jeep Compass compact SUV including the retooling of Brampton Assembly in Canada, which is designated to build the vehicle. Lana Payne, president of Unifor, the Canadian union representing Stellantis workers there, said in a Thursday statement: “Unifor warned that U.S. tariffs would hurt auto workers almost immediately and in this case the layoffs were announced before the auto tariff even came into effect. Trump is about to learn how interconnected the North American production system is the hard way, with auto workers paying the price for that lesson. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a statement that Stellantis has “got the money, the capacity, the product, and the workforce to employ thousands more UAW members in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. These layoffs are a completely unnecessary choice that the company is making.” Kalea Hall, David Shepardson and Nora Eckert, Reuters
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