A current report by the US investment bank Goldman Sachs on July 8 has confirmed what has apparently been shown in US trade: Despite the customs increases on consumer goods introduced at the beginning of April, noticeable price increases in clothing and shoes. The US specialist medium Footwear News reports.
In particular, due to shipped goods, upstream inventory and a lack of predictability of the tariffs, the transfer to consumers is delayed, according to the Goldman Sachs report from the FN. A subsequent bank of the investment bank of July 11 added: Compared to the trade war 2018/19, the current customs situation has far fewer consequences for consumer prices. Even if tariffs become effective immediately, it sometimes takes up to 1.5 months to get on the shelves.
While prices remain stable, consumers continue to spend strong money. For example, the US Census Bureau for June reported retail sales of $ 720.1 billion ($ 621 billion)-an increase of 0.6 % compared to May the area of clothing and accessories even booked +0.9 %, whereby juni data only followed later; May was USD 3.21 billion (EUR 2.77 billion).
Larger dealers can cushion price jumps through supply chain management and targeted promotions – smaller traders, on the other hand, do not have these scope and therefore have to pass on higher prices to their customers in the long run, the report says.
However, according to the article, experts remain skeptical. Although US tariffs initially led to noticeable price increases in the shoe and clothing segment, supply chain reserves and price stability could only have a temporary effect. Younger brands and smaller traders in particular could feel pressure in autumn.
