Snowsports trade association warns Trump’s tariffs will hurt bottom line

A consumer snowsports trade association is pushing back against tariffs imposed last month by President Donald Trump’s administration. The association feels the tariffs negatively affect the industry it represents.

On Monday, Snowsports Industries America, a non-profit member-owned trade association representing suppliers of consumer snowsports gear, will testify at the U.S. Trade Association in Washington D.C. The association’s president, Nick Sargent, will express concern over the proposed tariffs on $200 billion of consumer goods from China. The association claims the tariffs will financially stress the snow sports industry, namely manufacturers, retailers, consumers and the communities that rely upon it.

“The products of interest to SIA are not the type of products that are the targets of the Chinese acts, policies, and practices of concern to the United States,” Sargent wrote in his letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, “and imposition of additional duties on these products therefore would not aid the goal of China eliminating such acts, policies, and practices.”

The list of proposed tariffed products include sports bags, knit hats, safety helmets and ski gloves. In a statement, the SIA said it’s asking the U.S. Trade Representative to remove these products from the list.

“We are an industry selling widely recognized brands through specialty, community-based retail shops that are the backbone of our industry,” Sargent wrote. “Our economic vitality depends on tight margins throughout our supply chain and selling our products at a fair price each season. With even a slight increase in prices, the economic viability of our industry is in jeopardy and the impacts will be felt across our local communities and tourist-dependent resort towns, as well as by individual consumers in the United States. We understand that there is no U.S. production of the products of interest. Thus, there would be no harm to U.S. interests in removing the products from the USTR list.”

Before a decision is made on the final list of products, the U.S. Trade Representative has opened the process to public comments until Sept. 5.

To find out more about Snowsports Industries America’s initiative, visit: snowsports.org/tariff-action-page/.

And to read Sargent’s full letter, visit: tinyurl.com/y7lrdtfr.