If you’re an American who likes wearing Victoria’s Secret bras, Guess jeans or Nike shoes, chances are you’ll feel the impact of the $50 billion in tariffs that President Donald Trump is expected to unleash on Chinese imports.
A vast amount of items used by American consumers — from Under Armour leggings to Bath & Body Works shower gel and Samsonite luggage — are sourced from Chinese- or Hong Kong-based companies and factories, fueling the $450 billion in Chinese goods imported to America annually. Broad-based tariffs would likely translate into higher sticker prices in stores across the U.S.
Companies are already planning for it. If tariffs are raised on its products, Samsonite International SA chief executive officer Ramesh Tainwala sees one logical recourse. “We pass it on to the consumer,” said Tainwala, who spoke to reporters in Hong Kong last week. “We have the pricing power. We are the ones who will move first and the industry will follow.”
Samsonite is in an unusual global position. While the world’s biggest luggage maker is based in Mansfield, Mass., it is listed on the Hong Kong exchange. Samsonite executives say it manufactures two-thirds of its products in China and currently pays a tariff of more than 25 percent on them to the U.S.
