We ll get to the answer later in the column. First, look at your athletic shoes and see what they are made of. Right, not much. There is some fabric, rubber, possibly a small piece or two of leather. That s it.
Import duties are the fees that are charged to bring the shoes from another country.
Most athletic shoes are made in Asia, and the United States charges a fee to bring manufactured products into this country. The rent and equipment are the costs for the use of the factories and machines to make the shoes. Shipping is the cost of getting the shoes from, in this case, Asia to the United States. Once the shoes reach the United States, they are sent, or distributed, to all the stores that will sell the shoes to people like us. It also costs money to send the shoes to all of the thousands of retail stores in all of the cities in the United States and to many other countries around the world, and to pay the salesman who work for the shoe company to get the store to take their brand.