U.S. Lawmakers Seek End to Footwear Duties in Pacific-Trade Deal

The U.S. should eliminate tariffs on imports of footwear in a trade agreement being drafted by Pacific-region nations, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers said, fueling a debate over job creation in the shoe industry.

“We believe these tariffs do not benefit consumers or advance important trade objectives,” 15 senators led by Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, and Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, said today in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. A similar letter was sent by 47 House members.