Shoe Brands Turn to U.S. Manufacturers as Trump’s Import Tariffs Loom
Footwear manufacturing has yet to meaningfully reestablish itself in the United States. But the recent threat of new tariffs on foreign imports are pushing more American brands to consider staking out a supply chain outpost closer to home.
Since winning the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump has announced new tariff plans that include a 10 to 20 percent tariff on imports from all foreign countries and an additional 60 to 100 percent tariff on imports specifically from China. The President-elect also said he plans to impose various tariffs on products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.
Ninety-nine percent of the shoes sold in the United States are imported from primarily China, Vietnam and Indonesia, which means tariffs on these regions could make for even higher footwear costs in 2025. According to a November survey from Bain & Company, 81 percent of executives said that nearshoring and onshoring were integral to their future plans. When it comes to footwear, manufacturers in the U.S. told FN that they have seen more brands looking for factory partners on U.S. soil as potential import tariffs loom.
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“There’s no doubt that there’s a new wave of interest,” said Pepper Harward, chief executive officer of Oka Brands, which produces its own footwear in its factory in Buford, Ga. and also manufactures shoes for brands like New Balance and Ryka via a sustainable closed-loop system. (Formerly known as Okabashi, Oka brands manufactured the Yeezy Foam Runner style through a contract with Adidas before the company ended its Yeezy relationship in October of 2022.)
Harward noted that before 2024, the pandemic and its accompanying supply chain meltdown had already spurred strong interest in local manufacturing. On top of that, more brands have been keen to cut down on carbon emissions from air fuel and have more control over their supply chain. Given the long development cycle for footwear manufacturing, the brands that have recently launched U.S. based manufacturing projects and partnerships are likely a result of this post-pandemic push. But with the new threat of foreign import tariffs, the timing couldn’t be better.
“The brands just are relieved and feel like it’s great timing with tariffs and other challenges they’re having to deal with,” said Harward. “I think we’re just starting to see a new wave because of that.”
The threat of potential tariffs also means that high costs, a common impediment to manufacturing shoes in America, will no longer be a U.S.-exclusive problem.
“It makes us look a lot more advantageous over here, because the pricing is not so different anymore,” said Jack Kishk, president of U.S.-based footwear manufacturer American Sole, which produces Made in America shoes with globally sourced components out of its San Antonio, Texas factory that opened in 2024. (Kishk’s son, Joe, oversees the day-to-day business operations of the company in the role of chief strategy officer.)
American and proud
Tariffs aside, Kishk spoke to a growing desire among brands to support local manufacturing and offer “Made in America” branding on their shoes.
“They want something with the American flag to say, ‘You know what? I have an American made product,'” said Kishk.
In a similar vein, Hilos chief executive officer and founder Elias Stahl said that the upcoming 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and 2026 United States bicentennial has also driven demand among brands for “Made in U.S.A.” products.
“In general, there are events happening that people want ‘Made in America’ [products] for,” said Stahl, whose company designs and manufactures 3D printed footwear for different brands. “But when it comes to the threat of tariffs, we’ve really seen an acceleration in brands wanting to diversify their supply chain.”
Hilos, which recently announced a partnership with Steve Madden as the brand looks to diversify its own supply chain, offers an on-demand, “Made in America” solution for footwear, powered by AI and 3D printing. Stahl believes that in order for U.S. shoe manufacturing to really take hold, brands need to expect a different process than what they are used to abroad.
“The way that footwear is made overseas — 65 parts assembled in 150 steps — is not viable in the U.S., nor is it necessarily something we want to bring back,” Stahl said. “But new technologies do allow for domestic manufacturing and they enable new generations of product …. Hilos is one of the pioneers in that space, because our founding thesis is that if you’re going to make in the U.S., you have to change the way you make.”
The U.S. also lacks the level of skilled laborers needed to put shoes together. So a change or evolution in this process is crucial.
“I’m working with retired people that are in their 70s that don’t really have the stamina to be training a young workforce, but that’s what we have today. That’s probably my biggest challenge,” said Kishk, regarding the lack of skilled shoe industry workers in the U.S. But despite the issues, he remained optimistic about the future of U.S. footwear production.
“I see manufacturing coming back,” Kishk said. “But it’s not a walk in the park.”
