U.S. sports industry "disappointed" with renewed tariffs threat

The U.S. sports and fitness industry said on Thursday that it felt disappointed with the administration's new tariffs threat and will continue fighting those tariffs.

The container ship Seaboard Atlantic is shown docked at PortMiami in Miami, the United States. [File Photo: IC]

"We are disappointed with the (U.S.) President's action to escalate this trade war," President and CEO of Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Tom Cove said in a statement.

The statement was issued just six hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a fresh 10 percent tariff on 300 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports starting on Sept. 1.

He said the tariffs moratorium between China and the United States had given them hope that the two nations would continue negotiations in a positive way that would not harm American consumers and corporations.

In an earlier statement, Cove said that the tariffs threatened the existence of small- and medium-sized companies, which have less capacity and market power to make dramatic shifts in real time.

But compared with U.S. companies, the increased tariffs would be double worse for U.S. consumers who would face "hefty price rises and a reduced choice of sporting and outdoor goods," according to the SFIA.

"Tariffs are not the solution to the problem, and the American economy will suffer," Cove said in Thursday's statement.

The U.S. administration's imposition of tariffs last year targeted sporting products such as backpacks, duffel bags, bicycles, hats, gloves and everyday items.

Since last year, the SFIA has been urging its members to participate in a petition to exempt its industry products from the tariffs list.

The U.S. Trade Representative has not yet released the final list by product category, according to the SFIA, but the organization said it would continue to "discourage the president from increasing import duties on Chinese products, as China serves a crucial manufacturing role for many American companies."

The SFIA also said that China currently represents one of the most important production source countries for the sports and fitness industry.

The SFIA is a premier trade association for more than 1,000 sporting goods and fitness brands, manufacturers, retailers and marketers, who employee more than 375,000 people and generate 150 billion dollars in domestic revenue wholesale sales.