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Trump Tariffs Get Personal for the Harris Tweed Makers of the Hebrides

Donald Trump’s tariffs are threatening the livelihoods of Harris Tweed weavers in the Outer Hebrides, posing a threat to the centuries-old craft and the economic stability of the island communities.

Harris Tweed, Source: Radley Collector — The industry has historically been sensitive to the whims of American buyers who have had an outsized impact on the sector. (Radley Collector)

Bloomberg

06 June 2025

BoF PROFESSIONAL

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In December 1957, Reverend Murdoch MacRae traveled from his parish on Lewis and Harris, one of the Outer Hebridean islands off the north west of mainland Scotland, across the Atlantic Ocean to confront the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s tariffs on woollen imports were threatening an exodus of the island’s workers whose hand-woven tweed jackets, trousers and caps — beloved by Americans from Wall Street bankers to the Kennedys and Hollywood actors — were the lifeblood of the local economy. Little did MacRae know that his successful mission to shield islanders from US protectionism would be undone almost 70 years later by the son of a fellow Lewis native,

Why Tariffs Haven’t Led to Soaring Prices – Yet

Fashion brands will eventually need to offset higher costs for imports. But after raising prices again and again since the pandemic, some retailers are more worried about alienating shoppers than how they’ll pay their customs duties.

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