March 20, 2023 10:10AM 

# Trade in Real Life: Why You Should Oppose Shoe Tariffs with Your Heart and Sole 

By [Gabriella Beaumont-Smith](https://www.cato.org/people/gabriella-beaumont-smith) 

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In this new series, I will introduce you to trade policies that affect your everyday life.

I am beginning with an item near and dear to my heart, shoes, because I noticed that shoe tariffs lost to solar duties and safeguards in the [Protectionist Madness](https://www.cato.org/2023-protectionist-madness) bracket. Admittedly, this matchup presented a difficult choice for me as [I’ve](https://www.cato.org/blog/let-sun-set-solar-tariffs) [described](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/let-solar-tariffs-die) [the](https://www.cato.org/blog/solar-tariffs-horizon) [problems](https://www.cato.org/commentary/seen-unseen-protectionism-us-state-union) [behind](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2022-12/empowering-the-new-american-worker-essential-goods.pdf) the [solar](https://www.cato.org/cato-handbook-policymakers/cato-handbook-policymakers-9th-edition-2022/international-trade-investment-policy#trade-and-the-environment) duties and safeguards. But I had to vote that shoe tariffs are worse. My reasoning is quite simple—most people wear shoes and are therefore affected by the restrictive tariff policy maintained by United States. The following table illustrates the high tariffs imposed on varying shoe types:

![Shoe Tariffs](https://infogram-thumbs-1024.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/f11892e1-0502-4bcf-9d08-bd8c459763ac.jpg) 

What’s worse is that this tariff policy dates back to 1930! Under the [Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act](https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/132/647/2500/6519264), Congress imposed high tariffs on numerous imports—including [shoes](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324735104578123523795505336)—which remain today. The intended goal of this act was to protect domestic industries from competing with imports. However, these tariffs failed to [protect](https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/the-us-has-imposed-protective-shoe-tariffs-on-americans-for-decades-even-with-no-domestic-shoe-industry-to-protect/) the U.S. shoe industry, which is virtually nonexistent today (and this is not unique to shoes nor a negative phenomenon). Today, the United States imports 99 percent of shoes consumed and given this, it is completely nonsensical that we continue to pay high tariffs on them.

And it’s worse for those with lower-incomes, who are targeted with higher tariffs—as shown in the table, shoes valued at less than $3 are subject to a 48 percent tariff. In many cases, parents buy cheap shoes for their kids since they quickly grow out of them, which means each time parents buy each child a new pair of shoes, they’re paying unnecessary astronomical taxes. Women’s shoes also tend to be subject to higher tariffs, and shown in the table, a slingback is subject to a 37.5 percent tariff but a men’s dress shoe is subject to an 8.5 percent tariff.

In support of helping Americans’ paychecks go further (and building out one’s shoe collection), it is imperative Congress repeals shoe tariffs.

##### Related Tags 

[Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy) 

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