Why 50,000 Iconic French Shirts, Intended for America, Sit in Storage
Luc Lesénécal, the company's chief executive, surveyed an enormous workroom splashed with a rainbow of yarns. Seamstresses had recently put the finishing touches on 50,000 striped shirts and sweaters to fill orders for American stores like Nordstrom and J. Crew.
But his plans to ship for the fall retail season have been thwarted by President Trump's up-and-down tariff threats. Instead of loading the merchandise into cargo planes, Mr. Lesénécal has parked his entire U.S. export in the company's warehouse, where it will sit until Wednesday, the deadline Mr. Trump has set for Europe to come up with a deal or face tariffs of up to 50 percent.
'This is yo-yo politics we've been dealing with,' Mr. Lesénécal said, gesturing around a factory the size of three football fields, where 300 longtime employees turn out 1.5 million shirts, sweaters, scarves and coats a year. 'If we don't have visibility, we can't move forward.'
He is not alone. European industry has been whipsawed since Mr. Trump announced a barrage of trade actions aimed at rewiring the global economy. America's imposition of 10 percent tariffs on most goods from the European Union, and scattershot threats to push the rates to 20 or 50 percent, has led companies to freeze projects, seek exemptions and prepare to raise prices. Image Luc Lesénécal, the chief executive of Saint James, says his business with the United States has been upended by President Trump's tariffs.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
S&P 500 futures and dollar dip as Trump revives tariff tension
Equity-index futures fell and the dollar dipped after President Trump said his administration may start sending out letters imposing unilateral tariffs on trading partners as early as Friday. Ahead of his July 9 deadline for trade negotiations, the U.S. President told reporters on Thursday: 'We're probably going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day to various countries saying what they're going to pay to do business with the U.S.' Now that the megabill has passed, expect a ton of short-term debt to be sold to finance the government's deficit 'I'm single': At 70, I have $500,000 in stocks and $220,000 in savings. How do I invest my $130,000 windfall? 'Today is my 61st birthday': I have my ex-spouse's Social Security benefits. Should I retire at 65 and travel? 'I do all the yard work, cooking and cleaning': I live with my daughter and her lazy boyfriend. She wants me to buy her house. Do I say yes? My wife and I are in our late 60s. Do I sell stocks to pay our $30,000 credit-card debt — or do it gradually over 3 years? U.S. stocks closed at record highs following a holiday-shortened session on Thursday. The S&P 500 SPX has surged 26% from its April low as investors welcomed Trump's retreat from his original draconian tariff strategy announced on April 2 that pushed import levies to 131-year highs. However, the President's latest comments suggest few trade deals are likely to be struck before the April 9 deadline and now markets face increased tariff uncertainty once again. Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, noted that Trump later also said that the imposed tariffs, which may come into effect on August 1, could range in value from 10% to maybe 60 or 70%. 'So definitely one to keep an eye on, as the difference in that range would have significant economic implications for the various countries,' said Reid. U.S. equity and bond markets are closed for the Independence Day break, but stock-index futures are active, and the E-mini S&P 500 contract ES00 was 0.6% lower in early Friday action, with traders shrugging off news that the Republican's big tax-cutting bill had been passed. The U.S. dollar fell, down 0.4% versus the Japanese yen USDJPY, and losing 0.2% against the euro EURUSD. Global stock markets were mostly on the back foot, despite Wall Street's overnight record, with those countries arguably more vulnerable to a higher unilateral Trump tariff under most pressure. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index KR:180721 fell 2%, while Germany's DAX DX:DAX was down 0.7% and the CAC 40 FR:PX1 in France lost 0.9% by mid afternoon in Europe. '[R]isk sentiment is draining from markets,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. 'President Trump seems to have called time on trade negotiations before next Wednesday's deadline…This suggests that at this late stage he is willing to play hardball rather than negotiate,' she added. Concerns that higher tariffs across a broad range of countries would stymie trade and weaken the global economy saw copper futures HG00 fall 1.6% and oil futures CL.1 drop 1.3%. 'Optimism is evaporating at the end of the week, as the U.S. tariff deadline looms and the signs are that many countries will face higher duties than expected,' said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. The mildly risk-off tone caused bitcoin BTCUSD to slip 0.8% but saw gold GC00 give up early gains to trade little changed at around $3,342 an ounce. My wife and I have $7,000 a month in pensions and Social Security, plus $140,000 cash. Can we afford to retire? 'Finance makes me break out in hives': I inherited $240K from my parents. Do I pay off my $258K mortgage and give up my job? The Dow and Russell 2000 are joining the stock market's party. Is it a game changer for the bulls? My job is offering me a payout. Should I take a $61,000 lump sum — or $355 a month for life? We're living in 'end times' when you can't retire on $1 million Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Farage Ally Resigns From Reform UK Over Business Probe
A Reform UK lawmaker has temporarily stepped back following a report of alleged business impropriety by companies he owned during the pandemic, marking a setback for the right-wing insurgent party led by Nigel Farage. James McMurdock 'has removed the party whip from himself pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that are likely to be published by a national newspaper,' chief whip Lee Anderson said on Saturday. The allegations pertain to a time before he became a member of parliament, he said in a statement on the social media platform X.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Japan Top Trade Negotiator Holds Two Phone Meetings With Lutnick
(Bloomberg) -- Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held two phone meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss tariffs as a July 9 deadline for higher levies nears. Foreign Buyers Swoop on Cape Town Homes, Pricing Out Locals Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Trump's Gilded Design Style May Be Gaudy. But Don't Call it 'Rococo.' What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing Akazawa and Lutnick talked for 45 minutes on Thursday and for about an hour on Saturday, reaffirmed their respective positions on the US tariffs and 'had an in depth exchange of views,' according to a statement by Japan's Cabinet Secretariat. The two sides will continue to coordinate, the statement read. The phone calls took place as a 10% across-the-board levy on Japan's shipments to the US is set to revert back to 24% on July 9 barring a deal. Akazawa has traveled to the US seven times to hold talks with US counterparts including Lutnick, but previous talks have yielded little results. US President Donald Trump said he signed 12 letters that will go out Monday to inform trading partners of the new US tariff rates on their exports. He didn't specify which nations will receive the letters. In addition to the broader tariffs, as with other nations, Japan is also subject to a 25% levy on cars and auto parts and a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum. The duties are already weighing on Japan's economy, with the auto levy dealing a direct blow to the nation's most important export. SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried For Brazil's Criminals, Coffee Beans Are the Target Sperm Freezing Is a New Hot Market for Startups Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
