All Trade & Sourcing articles – Page 2
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ArticleThe EU and Mercosur sign a free trade agreement
On Jan. 17, the European Union and Mercosur signed a Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and an Interim Trade Agreement (iTA). However, the controversial free trade deal still has to be approved by the European Parliament and single EU member states. When on Jan. 9, a qualified majority of EU ...
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ArticleUS threatens to hike trade tariffs for 8 European countries in Greenland standoff
The US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on imports from eight European countries until an agreement is reached for the purchase of Greenland by the US. If applied, duties on exports to the US could increase to 35 percent for the UK and 40 percent for the other six ...
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Spanish footwear exports down 1.5% in first 10 months of 2025
Spanish footwear exports during the first ten months of 2025 totalled €2.92 billion, down by 1.5 percent compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the footwear association Fice.
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ArticleEU countries clear the Mercosur trade deal
A qualified majority of European Union member states has given the go-ahead to a free trade deal with the South American trade bloc Mercosur, despite protests of farmers and the opposition of France. Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said that the parties had found a “balance” between the interests of ...
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Turkish inflation continues to slip
The annual inflation rate in Turkey fell to 30.89 percent in December 2025 from 44.38 percent the year earlier and from 64.77 percent in December 2023, according to data from Turkish statistics office Tuik. The monthly rate of inflation fell to 0.89 percent in December 2025 from 1.03 percent the ...
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ArticleRevenues of Italian footwear manufacturers drop by 0.9% in the third quarter
In the first nine months of 2025, revenues of Italian footwear manufacturers fell by 4.1 percent year-over-year, but the industry’s performance has gradually improved over the past three quarters and the decline was nearly erased in the third quarter, according to a survey carried out in November by Confindustria Accessori ...
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SponsoredZhejiang Huanqiu Shoes is looking for outdoor footwear companies
Zhejiang Huanqiu Shoes is playing a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of China’s modern footwear industry. Now they are looking for a footwear manufacturer to invest in.
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SponsoredZhejiang Huanqiu Shoes: A Growing Force in Global Footwear
Zhejiang Huanqiu Shoes is playing a pivotal role in shaping the evolution of China’s modern footwear industry. Now they are looking for a footwear manufacturer to invest in.
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Humanoid robots seen deployed globally over the next five years
Humanoid robots are set to be deployed globally in commercial applications across a range of industries over the next five years, according to the Japanese investment bank Daiwa. Robots are becoming viable options in handling repetitive and simple tasks, it noted. Over the next five years, there should be a ...
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Thirtheen brands asked to provide supply chain information to the Italian police
The Italian police visited 13 brands and asked them to provide documentation regarding their governance and the control of their supply chains as part of an investigation into alleged worker abuse at subcontractors, the Reuters news agency reported citing judicial documents. The companies concerned are Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Prada, ...
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Turkish inflation falls to four-year low
In November, Turkish consumer prices rose by 31.07 percent year-over-year, against 32.87 percent in October, the lowest level in four years, according to the statistics office Tuik. Month on month, inflation stood at 0.87 percent. However, independent economists at the Inflation Research Group (ENAG) claim that official data underestimates inflation ...
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UK scraps tariff exemption for low-value goods as EU accelerates similar reforms
The UK government will abolish its £135 tariff exemption for low-value imports, a measure expected to level the playing field for domestic retailers. The EU is fast-tracking similar reforms, signaling a major shift for cross-border e-commerce and sporting goods brands. The British finance minister, Rachel Reeves, confirmed plans to scrap ...
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OrthoLite opens a manufacturing site in North Vietnam
OrthoLite, the US-based supplier of sustainable open-cell foam insoles, announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in North Vietnam. Located in the Ninh Binh Province, the site marks a key milestone in the company’s strategy to localize production and enhance service for regional and global footwear brands. The OrthoLite ...
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ArticleASF 4.0 launches its Portuguese 'megafactory' after raising fresh cash
Advanced Shoe Factory 4.0 (ASF 4.0), a unit of the French textile producer Chamatex Group, said that it is proceeding with the launch of a “megafactory” in Portugal with the goal of producing 1.5 million pairs of sports shoes annually from 2030. The project is part of ASF 4.0’s ambition ...
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US to cut Swiss trade tariffs to 15%
The United States and Switzerland reached trade agreement under which the US will cut import tariffs on Swiss products to 15 percent from 39 percent, while Switzerland will remove a range of tariffs across agriculture and industrial sectors and Swiss companies pledged to invest $200 billion in the US ...
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Hwaseung Footwear to build a plant in India
Hwaseung Footwear, a leading South Korean footwear manufacturer with producers for global brands such as Adidas, plans to invest 898 crore rupee (€87.1m) in a manufacturing facility in Kuppam, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to produce non-leather footwear. In the Indian numeral system, a crore corresponds to 10 ...
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Paul Green ends production at its Austrian HQ
The Austrian footwear brand Paul Green has announced it will cease production at its headquarters in Mattsee, near Salzburg, citing a persistently difficult economic environment, declining consumer spending and recently introduced US tariffs on shoe imports. The company said that despite extensive efficiency measures, the high costs of local ...
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ArticleBirkenstock to open a new production facility in Germany
Birkenstock is set to open a new manufacturing plant in Wittichenau, in the Saxony region, dedicated to the production of its signature cork-latex footbeds. The company has acquired the former Maja furniture factory in the Brischko district for around €18 million. The 78,000-square-meter production and logistics complex has been ...
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US, China agree on a truce in trade war
Following a meeting on Oct. 30 in Busan, South Korea, the US President, Donald Trump, and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, reached a multi-point agreement to ease trade tensions. China agreed to suspend its new rare-earth export controls for one year, effectively maintaining access to critical materials for US ...
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Coats starts building a factory in Indonesia
Coats Rejo Indonesia, which is part of the British manufacturer of industrial threads and footwear components, Coats, has begun building a new €35 million dyeing and finishing factory in Pleret, Indonesia. The facility will combine twisting, dyeing, yarn finishing and structural component production, with capacity projected to reach 9 tonnes ...
