European Luxury Brace Themselves for U.S. Tariffs

Designers sending their looks down the runway in Paris will have to worry not just over how well they’re received by critics, but what kind of treatment they get from customs agents on their way to the U.S. That’s because the administration of President Trump is preparing additional tariffs on a raft of European luxury goods, including handbags, suits and Champagne. Higher duties would leave brands with little choice but to raise prices or take a financial hit. The levies are a result of the worsening battle between the U.S. government and European authorities, which provide subsidies for aerospace company Airbus. While tariffs on aircrafts take center stage in the dispute, luxury goods have also been dragged into the fray, frustrating many in the industry that is dealing with fallout from the ongoing U.S. trade war with China. “It’s got nothing to do with handbags or men’s suits and everything to do with airplanes,” said Karen Giberson, president and chief executive officer of the Accessories Council. “I feel like fashion is a mathematical casualty in some of these tariff issues because they’re trying, in my opinion, to get to a certain dollar threshold or trying to pick products that will make more of

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