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The FDRA letter, dated April 29, was signed by 76 footwear companies such as Deckers Brands, Capri Holdings, Under Armour, and VF Corp.

The trade group said that the industry already faces significant levies, including children's shoes, which have rates of at least 20 percent and sometimes over 37 percent before accounting for the new tariffs.

Trump had imposed broad-based tariffs on goods from major U.S. trading partners, potentially leading to a rise in prices.

He had instituted sweeping tariffs in early April, including 145 percent tariffs on imports from China.

Adidas, on Tuesday, held back from raising its 2025 financial forecasts despite strong first-quarter results, citing the uncertainty around U.S. import tariffs.

Similarly, Skechers also withdrew its annual forecasts, citing the Trump administration's erratic trade policy.

"Given the nature of the U.S. footwear industry, American footwear businesses and families face an existential threat from such substantial cost increases. Hundreds of businesses face the prospect of closure," said the letter.

The letter asks for "a more targeted approach, focused on strategic items rather than basic consumer goods."

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: Nike sneakers are seen on display at a Nike store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, the United States, on April 3, 2025. /VCG)

“It’s a big mistake in my view when you have 7.5 billion people who don’t like you very well, and you have 300 million who are crowing about how they have done,” Buffett said as he addressed the topic on everyone’s mind at the start of the shareholders meeting.

While Buffett said it is best for trade to be balanced between countries, he does not think Trump is going about it the right way with his widespread tariffs. He said the world will be safer if more countries are prosperous.

“We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world. We should do what we do best and they should do what they do best,” he said.

America has been going through revolutionary changes ever since its birth and the promise of equality for all, which was not fulfilled until years later, Buffett said. But nothing that is going on today has changed his long-term optimism about the country.

“If I were being born today, I would just keep negotiating in the womb until they said, ‘You could be in the United States,’” Buffett said.

The remark came as Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington for a second round of bilateral tariff talks.

Kato said the primary purpose of Japan’s US Treasury holdings – the largest in the world – is to ensure it has sufficient liquidity to conduct yen intervention when necessary.

“But we obviously need to put all cards on the table in negotiations. It could be among such cards,” Kato said in a television programme when asked whether Japan, in trade talks with the US, could reassure Washington it will not sell its Treasury holdings in the market.

“Whether we actually use that card, however, is a different question,” Kato added.

The comments contrast with those Kato made last month, when he ruled out using Japan’s US Treasury holdings as trade leverage.