Tariff pinch on cowboy boots

Factory workers from Cape Karoo International handling and treating ostrich skins at the tannery of the company in Oudtshoorn. — Photos: AFP

THE manufacturer of iconic “made in the USA” cowboy boots is set to suffer from President Donald Trump’s 30% tariffs on South African exports, which came into force last month.

Texas’s most renowned makers of the southern US fashion staple source the ostrich leather they require exclusively from the small South African town of Oudtshoorn, 400km east of Cape Town.