Uniqlo threatens to leave the US over Trump Taxes

Lovers of chic and cheap fashions from Uniqlo will be unhappy to learn that Uniqlo’s owner, Tadashi Yanai,  has threatened to leave the US over Trump imposed taxes on non-American made goods.

“If I was directly told to do so, I will withdraw from the United States,” Tadashi Yanai  said in an interview with Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

Uniqlo, which has retail stores in the US and employs Americans, has been planning to open 20 more stores in the US to hire Americans.  Those plans may now not happen, and their American employees may actually lose their jobs.

Ines de la Fressange models a sweater from her Fall/Winter collab with Uniqlo.

The added taxes/tariffs that Trump would impose on Uniqlo would impair the chain’s ability to offer low-cost fashions to consumers.  “We would not be able to make really good products [in the U.S.] at costs that are beneficial to customers,” Mr. Yanai said in the The Asahi Shimbun report. “It would become meaningless to do business in the U.S.”

Would you miss Uniqlo readers? I would.  I love their Ines de la Fressange line, Hana Tajima collection and would miss their T-shirts and special collections (like Liberty of London.) No word yet from Zara or H&M but they might also have a hard time keeping prices low and selling in the US if the taxes go through.  Stay tuned on this one as we watch how the Congress responds to Trumps proposed changes.