'Mind boggling': CEO puts Trump on notice he's on the way to 'higher prices and inflation'
Donald Trump's threatened tariff plan will result in higher shoe prices, according to a retail industry trade group CEO.
Matt Priest, CEO of Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, appeared on CNN on Wednesday to discuss Trump's plan to install high tariffs on foreign goods. Priest's group represents dozens of companies, including Nike, DSW, Crocs, Under Armor, and more.
"We've seen this movie before," Priest said. "We've been paying duties since 1930, almost 100 years... I will tell you that we know how these impact consumers. As costs go up at the border, we pass those costs on to our consumers; that's just how it works in our society."
ALSO READ: Multiple Republicans reveal plan to boot Mike Johnson as speaker
He added, "I can tell you that any additional tariffs from the president-elect will mean higher prices and inflation."
When asked about specific price increases, Priest said, "If you look at our duty structure, we pay upwards of almost 70% on kids shoes. That's just mind boggling."
"So if you think about a kid's shoe making its way across the border, any time costs go up, whether it's for energy or labor or the tariffs that the U.S. government charges at the border, those costs go up for the consumers. It's an inevitable fact," he added. "And so we even went out and surveyed Trump voters last week and asked them, how are you feeling about tariffs? And they came back and nearly 70% of Trump supporters said that they would not support additional tariffs on things like kids shoes and so we want to work with the administration to figure out ways to tamp down on inflation. And we will tell the president-elect and his team on day one, raising tariffs is not how you get that done."