FDRA weighs in on President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union

FDRA weighs in on President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union

FDRA President Matt Priest made the following comments following President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union:

“On behalf of the footwear industry, we are encouraged that tonight President Obama made a strong case on the need for Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2016. This historic, 12-nation free trade agreement will provide significant value to U.S. footwear consumers and companies, helping them save $450 million in the first year of TPP’s implementation and $6 billion over the first decade. We applaud the President for using his final State of the Union address to make a bipartisan appeal on an issue that is important to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who work in footwear design, innovation, retail, marketing, administration, warehousing and logistics. In the coming months, FDRA will continue to lead the charge with congressional leaders to explain how TPP will strengthen footwear jobs throughout the U.S. and deliver real savings to American consumers.”

About the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America

Founded in 1944 by the footwear industry, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) is the largest footwear trade association in the U.S. It represents the entire width of the footwear industry from small family-owned footwear businesses to global companies. It also serves the full supply chain of the footwear industry from research, design and development, to manufacturing and distribution, to retailers selling to consumers all over the globe.