It’s already happening. Prices of nearly all foreign-made goods are expected to increase due to the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, and the trickling effects have had an immediate response by the brass over at Beaverton, OR.
Nike and Jordan Brand just increased prices of select footwear items on the Nike SNKRS page; the Nike SB P-Rod 1 jumped from $120 to $125, the Air Max Muse saw a $10 bump to $170, the Air Jordan 12 “Melo” and Air Jordan 1 “UNC Reimagined” added $5 to the tab, and so on. Expect increases nearly across the board for any product under the Nike, Inc. umbrella.
Donald Trump’s reasoning for imposing these tariffs are to bring manufacturing back to America, to encourage consumers to buy American-made products, and to protect American jobs. Those long-term goals would take decades if at all, whereas the short term means American consumers will have to pick up the tab.
Last April, adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden stated that the tariffs would likely cause a price increases to the American market.
Heightened retail prices will also have an effect on the massive secondary market as consumers may be hesitant to spend extra money and would rather use cash on already-release goods on the resell marketplace. This could potentially drive the business of this crucial corner of the sneaker world, which itself will undoubtedly have an effect on the sneaker ecosystem as a whole.