Shoe Company: Obama Admin Pressured Us to Stay Quiet on TPP
The Boston Globe is reporting that U.S.-based shoe manufacturer New Balance has come out hard against the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. The odd thing, though, is that the Boston company had gone quiet [on TPP] last year. Now, apparently, we know why: New Balance officials say one big reason is that they were told the Department of Defense would give them serious consideration for a contract to outfit recruits with athletic shoes. But no order has been placed, and New Balance officials say the Pentagon is intentionally delaying any purchase. New Balance is reviving its fight against the trade deal, which would, in part, gradually phase out tariffs on shoes made in Vietnam. A loss of those tariffs, the company says, would make imports cheaper and jeopardize its factory jobs in New England. Tariffs on shoes are steep, and New Balance is one of a handful of shoe companies that still manufactures shoes in the United States. (Though, 75 percent of their shoes are made abroad.)
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