Made in China: Trump re-election flags may get burned by his tariffs
FUYANG, CHINA: The red, white and blue banners for US President Donald Trump’s second-term campaign are ready to ship, emblazoned with the words ‘Keep America Great!’
But they are made in eastern China and soon could be hit by punitive tariffs of Trump’s own making as he ratchets up a rancorous trade dispute with Beijing.
At the Jiahao Flag Co Ltd in Anhui province, women operate sewing machines to hem the edges of ‘ Trump 2020’ flags the size of beach towels, while others fold and bundle them for delivery.
The factory has turned out about 90,000 banners since March, said manager Yao Yuanyuan, an unusually large number for what is normally the low season, and Yao believed the China-US trade war was the reason.
“It’s closely related,” she said. “They are preparing in advance, they are taking advantage of the fact that the tariffs haven’t gone up yet, with lower prices now.”
The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on US$34 billion worth of goods from China. After Beijing retaliated in kind, Washington announced levies on an additional US$200 billion worth of products and threatened more, targeting potentially all of China’s exports to America – including flags.
At about US$ 1 apiece, the suppliers of the paraphernalia that will surround the Trump campaign can’t resist the low price offered by Yao’s factory.
She says the buyers are located in both China and abroad and she doesn’t know if they are affiliated with Trump’s official campaign or the Republican Party. Her factory has been making Trump banners since the time his tag line as a candidate was ‘ Make America Great Again’, highlighting an irony of his hardline on trade with China.
“Sales have been great ever since 2015,” she said.
But Trump’s effort to wrest better trading conditions from China threatens Yao’s price advantage, and his hardline stance could eventually repel suppliers like Yao.