Retail experts think consumers should be scared of tariffs.

"One hundred billion in further tariffs is beyond frightening," says American Apparel & Footwear Association CEO Rick Helfenbein as the Trump administration is proposing an additional $100 billion in tariffs on products imported from China, beyond the $50 billion detailed earlier this week.

But tariffs aren't new to retail.

In fact, American consumers have been paying for tariffs on clothing and shoes since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

The current average duty rate paid for all goods the U.S. imports is 1.4 percent, while the average tariff on travel goods and footwear is about 11 percent, according to the AAFA.

While apparel and footwear have not been specifically listed (yet) as targets of further tariffs, most that study trade say there are only so many categories the U.S. imports from China, making it almost inevitable these categories are next.

Especially considering 97 percent of all clothing and 98 percent of all footwear sold in the U.S. were made overseas.



Clothing, shoes, textiles and travel goods only make up 6 percent of everything the U.S. imports, but the group collectively generated more than half of the $34.5 billion in tariffs collected in 2017.

It's true that shoe shipments from China to the U.S. have fallen to a 20-year low, but the U.S. still imports more footwear pairs from China than any other country, at nearly 73 percent. Vietnam is next at 16 percent, and imports from the nation have grown for 17 straight years. Indonesia holds the third spot for footwear imports at more than 4 percent, according to an analysis of trade data by the AAFA.

More than 41 percent of U.S. clothing imports are from China, followed by more than 12 percent from Vietnam, 7 percent from Bangladesh and 5 percent from Indonesia.

Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America CEO Matt Priest says there are 436 ways to classify shoes when it comes to the government's tariff codes and based on construction materials of the upper and outer soles, footwear duties go as high as 67.5 percent.

Duties on clothing are also levied in a wide range, including pantyhose at 16 percent, certain knit tops and men's coats at 28 percent.

Whether Americans realize it or not, Priest says consumers are currently paying for all of those tariffs.