President-elect Donald Trump has shared throughout his campaign that he intends to place tariffs on goods not made in the United States, as he says it will drive down prices and increase domestic production.
Some experts have argued the opposite effect will occur, with American consumers taking on the brunt of added costs, though one company is already taking action.
Last week, Steve Madden announced that it will import fewer goods made in China, replacing them with items made in other countries.
The announcement from the shoemaker came during an earnings call with analysts on Thursday. During the call, CEO Edward Rosenfeld said the company has planned to reduce its reliance on China and diversify its imports for some time.
“We have been planning for a potential scenario in which we would have to move goods out of China more quickly,” Rosenfeld told analysts on the call, CBS News reports. “We’ve worked hard over a multiyear period to develop our factory base and our sourcing capability in alternative countries, like Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, etc.”
Steve Madden started implementing its plan on Wednesday, according to Rosenfeld.
As of now, more than 70% of the company’s imports are from China, though Rosenfeld aims to cut that figure to 25% to 30%.
Trump has discussed possibly placing tariffs as high as 60% on imports from China, with a universal tariff of 10%-20% on imports from all foreign countries.
The National Retail Federation has reported that the proposed tariffs could lead to consumers paying $6.4 billion to $10.7 billion more for footwear. That same report also estimates that Americans could lose $46 billion to $78 billion in spending power each year.