Donald Trump, who famously described himself as a “tariff man” in a 2018 tweet, is set to become the 47th U.S. president. While the president-elect’s tariff talk is music to the ears of some industries – steel, for instance – many others fear his return. This includes Nike (NKE), which fell as the election results trickled in, even as the broader markets soared to a record high.
U.S. companies like Apple (AAPL) and Nike have used China as a sourcing destination for years, which helped them to lower their production costs. Even as Western companies have started diversifying their supply chain to de-risk them from U.S.-China tensions - which are the new reality of this century, irrespective of who sits in the White House - China remains the key sourcing destination for many companies.
