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Apparel trade group president 'worried' about Trump trade policies

The Trump administration's actions on global trade pose a threat to the apparel and footwear industries, American Apparel & Footwear Association President and CEO Rick Helfenbein said at the group's annual executive summit in Washington.

"You hear they're going to go after aluminum, steel, intellectual property," Helfenbein said Feb. 28. "You would think, 'Hmmm ... that's good.'"

"It's a set-up to think about charging a duty, or tariff if you will, on China," he continued. "If you're in the apparel business, watch out. If you're in the footwear business, watch out."

According to Helfenbein, 38% of apparel in the U.S. comes from China and another 72% of footwear comes from the Asian nation, supply chains that will continue to be threatened should the Trump administration continue to target China through trade actions that will raise costs.

Trump is weighing tariff recommendations from the U.S. Commerce Department on U.S. steel and aluminum imports, including those from China. The administration also said Feb. 27 that it had imposed tariffs of up to 95.44% on separate aluminum foil imports.

U.S. goods and services trade was roughly $648.5 billion in 2016, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Helfenbein also cited concern with U.S. rhetoric aimed at other top trading partners including Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany and South Korea.

The U.S. is reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, in talks that have been marked by tension since they began in August. Citing trade deficit concerns, the U.S. is also renegotiating its free trade agreement with South Korea. The Trump administration's threats on steel tariffs have led Germany and the EU to reportedly threaten retaliatory actions on U.S. products.

"I'm worried," Helfenbein said. "I'm not a little worried. I'm really worried."

Helfenbein's concern caught the attention of Ananth Raman, the UPS Foundation professor of business logistics at Harvard Business School, who also addressed the AAFA summit.

"I've known Rick a very long time and I've never heard Rick that worried," Raman said.

However, Helfenbein expressed some optimism for progress toward U.S. negotiations on NAFTA. The seventh round of talks, currently running in Mexico City through March 5, provide more hope than did the previous sixth round in Montreal, which he said was marked by "doom and gloom."

"There's a little glimmer of hope now," Helfenbein said.

The two-day AAFA summit, Feb. 28-March 1, features speakers from Apple Inc., JD.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., among others.