Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo threatens to close US stores over Trump US manufacturing policy

The president of Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has threatened to close US stores if president Donald Trump forces the company to manufacture in the US.

Tadashi Yanai, founder and president of Fast Retailing, the owner of Uniqlo, told Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that he "will withdraw from the United States" if directly instructed to,  NBC News reported.

"Anyone will think that it is an open-and-shut and impossible situation," Yanai told Asahi Shimbun. "If [manufacturing products in the United States] is not a good decision for consumers, it is meaningless to do business in the United States."

Trump had on several occasions threatened to impose a tariff on foreign imports as part of his campaign promise to revitalise US manufacturing and in January, had urged Toyota to reconsider the location of its planned factory in Mexico.

"Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY!" Trump tweeted. "Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax."

However, retail executives were fearful such measures like Trump's suggested 20-per cent border adjustment tax, could significantly up prices for consumers."The border adjustable tax is harmful, untested, and would put American retail jobs at risk and force consumers to pay as much as 20 percent more for family essentials," Retail Industry Leaders Association president Sandy Kennedy said in February.

Uniqlo was the latest company to warn of consequences from any moves to curb foreign trade.

According to some commentators, if Uniqlo and other companies pulled out of US, it could make life even tougher for many struggling shopping malls. ''Not only is Uniqlo a major retailer and employer in the US, it is also a major tenant of landlords in a landscape of retail distress,'' noted Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group in Virginia in his morning note on Friday, Fortune reported.