Crocs Inc., Steve Madden Ltd. and Wolverine Worldwide Inc. were among the footwear stocks seeing gains on Monday morning following the latest tariff move by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
This comes after an early morning joint statement from the United States and China, in which they announced a substantial reduction on tariff rates. Starting Wednesday, the U.S. will lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent, while China will reduce its tariffs on American goods from 125 percent to 10 percent.
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The U.S. and China agreed that the tariff freeze would last an initial 90 days to allow room for further negotiations as they move toward a potential trade deal.
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Shares of Steve Madden, which has taken considerable action to reduce its reliance on China, jumped nearly 12 percent, while Wolverine Worldwide, which is aiming for “near zero” Chinese production by 2026, saw its stock up by 8 percent.
What’s more, shares for Nike Inc. and Crocs were both up 6 percent on Monday. Other shoe brands like Skechers saw little movement following Monday’s news, with shares remaining flat.
As for footwear retailers, Foot Locker Inc., Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and DSW parent company Designer Brands Inc. all saw their stock jump nearly 10 percent. Shares of Boot Barn Holdings Inc. soared nearly 14 percent and Shoe Carnival Inc. rose nearly 9 percent.
Trump’s change of tune on China, however, had some analysts cautious on what comes next.
“We’ve had reassurance from the U.S. that negotiations will continue and that the tone of the negotiations have been positive and U.S. and China don’t want to decouple…That doesn’t mean that we’re back to where we were before the Trump inauguration, the 10 percent baseline tariff still exists everywhere, the 90 [day] pause is there and the clock is starting to tick,” said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank.
Aaron Hill, FP Markets’ chief analyst, added: “The 90-day timeframe indicates these tariff cuts are a negotiation tactic rather than a permanent resolution, creating uncertainty about long-term trade policies.”