Calling All Ladies (and Men Interested in Shoes)

Posted by Katie Favazza - 07/23/08 at 06:07 pm

The Cato Institute is sponsoring a policy forum this Friday that begs the question: “Should Congress lower tariffs on imported shoes?” The panel will feature Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Ed Gresser and William Hawkins. Click here and see below for more details. If you can’t make it to the Cato Institute, watch this Forum live online at www.cato.org.

Among the highest remaining U.S. tariffs are those imposed on imported shoes, with the highest duties applying to the cheapest shoes. Critics of the tariffs contend that they fall most heavily on the poorest American households while “saving” few domestic jobs. Defenders argue that the tariffs provide revenue for the federal government, have little impact on consumer prices, and steer trade to our free-trade partners at the expense of China. A bill in Congress to eliminate certain shoe tariffs, the Affordable Footwear Act, currently has more than 140 co-sponsors in the House and may be attached to the upcoming Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Please join us for a forum featuring a co-sponsor of the footwear act and two trade experts who will debate the merits of lowering tariffs on imported shoes.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Politics and Capitol Hill, Pop Culture. The entry is tagged under You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Calling All Ladies (and Men Interested in Shoes)”

  1. steveegg says:
    July 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    You forgot free-traders who can count the pairs of shoes they own on one hand :-)

    Seriously, I go through an average of one pair of shoes every year, and both the Nikes and the dress shoes are looking a bit worn (the hiking boots and the winter boots are still good to go).

  2. mopowell says:
    July 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    I used to be more of a shoe addict when I was a teenager, but I’ve become more interested in other clothes now. The key is getting a few pairs of shoes that can flow well with a diverse collection of outfits.