No promises after US trade envoy visits New Balance factory
31/07/2013
Workers at the factory were forthright in their calls for the trade envoy to resist pressure to make it cheaper for rival brands and retailers to import footwear from low-cost countries in Asia. Local media quoted one worker, Sue Burns, as saying she had told Mr Froman she was a fourth-generation shoemaker and wanted to end her career at New Balance.
Employees at the New Balance factory fear their jobs will be under threat if the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with countries in Asia removes import tariffs on shoes. Brands making shoes in Asia will have a strong price advantage over New Balance if it maintains its commitment to manufacturing shoes on domestic soil.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership proposes free trade among Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. Vietnam, in particular, is reported to be lobbying hard for the removal of tariffs on footwear exports to the US. Japan has expressed an interest in taking part too and campaigners against ongoing tariffs in the US have said that US brands stand to benefit from easier access to Japan’s footwear market in the future if the agreement goes through.
Mr Froman made no promise to protect the New Balance jobs, but said the visit, arranged by local senator Angus King, had been helpful and that he would continue to involve the company in the process. Mr King later told local media: “He wasn’t in a position to make promises. My mission was to get him here to meet these people and look them in the eye. I want to make this as hard a decision for him as possible.”
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