Don’t Tread on America’s Shoe Manufacturers

By Steven Capozzola

If you ask Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Exercutive Director Scott Paul, he's a big fan of New Balance's American-made shoes.  He says he has 10 pairs of New Balance sneakers in his closet.

Many Americans are also fans of New Balance's high-quality, Made-in-USA footwear.

Maintaining their New England-based manufacturing operations could soon be more difficult for New Balance, however, according to the Washington Post's Peter Whoriskey.

In a profile on New Balance, Whoriskey explains that a potential free trade agreement with Vietnam could open the door to a flood of new sneaker imports:

The company’s primary concern is that any free-trade agreement with Vietnam would probably eliminate the steep tariff on footwear imported from that country, making Vietnamese sneakers even cheaper than they already are.

New Balance officials said removing the tariff would also undermine years of efforts at the company’s five New England factories to compete against cheap foreign labor. The plants employ 1,000 workers.

Read the full article.