Throughout the campaign season, President-elect Donald Trump used to frequently criticize the US trade policy, pledging that he would rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement and slap high tariffs on goods coming to the US from China and Mexico. But his statements were not especially specific and it fueled a fair amount of uncertainty for the retail industry which relies heavily on imported goods to fill store shelves.

And since his surprise win, Trump hasn’t backed off this kind of rhetoric. Most recently, issuing a series of tweets, he said that companies that move jobs overseas will be subject to a 35 per cent levy. Now, retailers are largely waiting-and-watching as they are trying to figure out how or whether Trump’s decrees will translate into real-world policy.

Hun Quach, VP of International Trade at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, says from their perspective, the 35 per cent tariff is worrisome. This is because their foremost priority was their consumers. He further said he wants to make sure that goods are being sold to their customers at the price they want to pay. If retailers suddenly had to pay much higher taxes on the goods they sell, they’d have to find a way to offset those costs. And that might come in the form of higher prices for shoppers.

Experts say that Trump’s tweets seemed to suggest that he seeks to implement a 35 per cent tariff on companies that move jobs overseas in the future. And so for industries such as the apparel and footwear industry, that specific policy might not be terribly meaningful.