Steve Madden calls out the Trump administration on tariffs: 'They fundamentally don't know what they're doing'

Business Insider

23-05-2025

Steve Madden says Trump's tariffs won't achieve his desired outcomes.
Tariffs aim to reduce trade deficits and boost US manufacturing, Trump said.
Madden argues the US benefits from trade with China, including "better jobs" than working in a factory.
When Trump announced his tariff plans in April, he argued that big trade deficits weakened US manufacturing and made supply chains too dependent on other countries.
As a result, imported products are getting more expensive, and you can "thank your government for that," Madden, the cofounder of his eponymous shoe brand, told "The Cutting Room Floor" podcast host Omondi on Wednesday.
"They fundamentally do not understand what they're doing," Madden said when asked about tariffs.
The notion that the US has lost manufacturing jobs to China is true, Madden said. However, he said, Americans have picked up "many better jobs as a result of our relationship with China."
He points to the iPhone, now the target of an "at least 25%" tariff directed at only Apple. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he expects iPhones sold in the US to be "manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else."
"The iPhone being made in China — the success that that has created — the commerce," Madden said. "There's probably hundreds of thousands of people working for Apple today in America as a result of them making those phones in China."
The US has evolved into a "society that doesn't want to work in a factory making fucking socks," especially when jobs in retail, marketing, social media, and more exist, he said.
It's a concept that Madden says wealthy businessmen who "never made anything" wouldn't understand, and that's the problem.
"The Trump administration is deploying a multi-faceted approach of tariffs, rapid deregulation, domestic energy production, and tax cuts to reshore critical manufacturing and restore American Greatness," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Business Insider in a statement.
Representatives for the Steve Madden brand didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by BI.
The titans of retail are feeling the effects of Trump's tariffs. As Apple examines where to produce its US iPhones, Walmart warned that its prices will be increasing as a result of the tariffs. Best Buy, Target, and more have told consumers to expect to see products get more expensive.
"We are the people who create commerce — the Apples, the Steve Maddens, the UGGs, the Ralph Laurens — we create the economy, and they're destroying it," Madden said.