Why It Matters

The Leather and Hide Council of America has retained Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg PA to lobby on trade issues, marking the organization's first recorded lobbying engagement in the disclosure database. The registration comes as the U.S. leather and hide industry faces mounting pressure from escalating tariffs and retaliatory trade measures that have disrupted export markets. With exports reportedly accounting for the vast majority of U.S. leather and hide production, the stakes of the current trade environment are significant for the industry.

By the Numbers

No prior lobbying expenditures are on record for the Leather and Hide Council of America, making this a first-time entry into federal lobbying. The new lobbying registration filing lists two lobbyists: Nicole Collinson and an unnamed lobbyist identified only by an internal ID in the LDA filing 2026. Collinson has an active lobbying portfolio at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg PA, having worked on behalf of clients including the Ad Hoc Coalition for Apparel Supply Chain Resiliency in Central America, the AGOA Ad-Hoc Coalition, and HanesBrands Inc., among others, with a consistent focus on tariff and trade policy. The firm itself represented 36 unique clients in the year preceding this new lobbying disclosure, generating approximately $2.66 million in lobbying revenue. No dollar figure is listed for the Leather and Hide Council engagement in the current filing.

The Agenda

The lobbying registration filing lists a single issue area: Trade (Domestic & Foreign). No specific legislation is identified in the disclosure, and no particular bills are cited. The filing does not elaborate on specific policy asks. Given Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg PA's broader client work, the firm has extensive experience navigating Section 301 tariff exclusions, trade preference programs, and customs policy, though none of those specifics are attributed to this engagement in the lobbying compliance filing.

Broader Context

The timing of this new lobbying disclosure coincides with a turbulent moment for the U.S. leather and hide industry. CNBC reported in December 2025 that Trump administration tariffs are disrupting global leather supply chains, with prices for leather footwear and accessories expected to rise roughly 22 percent over the coming years. The report specifically referenced the Leather and Hide Council of America and noted the U.S. leather workforce has fallen to approximately 50,000 workers, with the number of domestic tanneries reduced to just a few hundred.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has reported that the hide market is being squeezed on two fronts: rising domestic supply of hides combined with weakened demand from China, the largest customer for U.S. raw hides and skins. The Farm Bureau noted that U.S. tariffs on leather imports from China are depressing demand, while counter-tariffs risk exacerbating a domestic oversupply of raw hides.

China's retaliatory posture has sharpened the pressure. The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service confirmed that China raised retaliatory tariffs to 125 percent on all U.S. goods. Research from Ohio State University documented that U.S. beef exports to China dropped from an average of 2,420 metric tons per week in the first quarter of 2025 to just 17 metric tons following tariff escalation. Since hides are a byproduct of beef processing, the collapse in beef trade flows has direct consequences for the hide supply chain.

Compounding the issue, a global leather market analysis notes that the U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level since the 1950s, constraining the domestic supply of raw hides at a moment when export markets are also under strain.

Between the Lines

Congressional attention to agricultural trade and byproduct markets has been visible in recent months. At a March 2026 Senate Commerce Committee hearing on domestic consumption of U.S.-grown agricultural products, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) specifically mentioned that "beef byproducts are also essential in driving domestic and international demand. From hides to specialty cuts, the industry has significantly increased its efficiency in using those cattle carcasses." Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, testified at the same hearing that "most of that market for those byproducts is overseas, and that means good trade treaties and making sure that we can move those products out of here."

At an April 2026 House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the Trump administration's 2026 trade policy agenda, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer addressed tariff policy broadly, stating: "We've certainly raised tariffs because before we had very low tariffs, so we had wild imports from China. We're building up tariffs to protect the industries we need." A separate budget hearing for the Office of the USTR in April 2026 also addressed agricultural export trends and trade agreement negotiations.

On the member communications front, Rep. Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9) highlighted leather as a downstream product of cattle processing in a May 2025 post referencing Cargill Beef's Pennsylvania operations.

Competitive Landscape

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg PA represents a range of clients with overlapping interests in trade and tariff policy. Several of those clients are lobbying on Section 301 tariff issues, customs modernization, and trade preference programs. No other organizations specifically identified as leather or hide industry representatives appear in the lobbying disclosure database based on available information.

The Bottom Line

The Leather and Hide Council of America's entry into federal lobbying reflects an industry navigating a difficult trade environment. The organization has retained a firm with a focused trade practice at a moment when congressional and executive branch attention to tariff policy is high. The specific policy outcomes they are seeking are not detailed in the filing.

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