OIA’s international trade program is dedicated to promoting a stable and predictable trade environment for outdoor businesses of all sizes, from domestic manufacturers to those that utilize global value chains to bring product to market. Members of OIA’s Trade Advisory Council (OIATAC) meet regularly to provide advice and guidance on new initiatives to help the bottom line of outdoor companies and to collaborate and exchange new ideas and best practices as they navigate tariffs, supply-chain disruptions, shipping costs and other challenges to their businesses. Watch our presentation from Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2022 to learn from OIA’s outside trade counsels from Sorini Samet & Associates and members of OIATAC on the latest federal trade updates, challenges to outdoor supply chains and how OIA members are responding.
Moderator: Richard W. Harper, Jr., Director of Government Affairs, Outdoor Industry Association
Panelists:
Ron Sorini, Principal, Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC
Ben Christensen, Vice President of Operations, Simms Fishing Products
Sara Bowersox, Senior Manager of Global Trade Compliance, Keen Footwear
Takeaways from the session include:
- There is broad, bi-partisan support for getting even tougher on China with regard to trade. Punitive tariffs are likely to remain in place for some time.
- While Congress and the administration focused on domestic priorities in 2021, there’s a chance we’ll see movement on some outstanding trade items early in 2022, like renewing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and a package of miscellaneous tariff bills.
- Outdoor companies are dealing with unprecedented challenges in bringing products to market, from high freight costs to congestion at US ports. Work on addressing these issues has gone up considerably. Some have found success in broadening partners in freight and logistics, adding more options.
- Looking at the year ahead, outdoor companies are looking for any opportunity to help with their bottom line, from leveraging any duty savings, streamlining supply chains to developing multiple vendor relationships.
