Dad wants American, First Daughter roots for China
In his January inauguration speech, US President Donald Trump made a seemingly straightforward pledge: “We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American.”
His daughter is the exception: even as he spoke, at least eight shipments of Ivanka Trumpbranded shoes, bags and clothes — more than 53.5 tonnes — were steaming towards American ports from China, according to US Customs bills of lading examined by AFP.
Trump uses his presidential pulpit to censure manufacturers — both domestic and foreign -- for using overseas labour to make goods for American consumers, but the Ivankabranded orders have kept rolling in.
More than two tonnes of ladies’ polyester woven blouses, 1,600 cowhide leather wallets and 23 tonnes of made-in-China footwear were among at least 82 such shipments that passed US Customs — almost one per business day — from Trump’s November 8 election win through February 26, records showed.
The goods were made in China by three US companies holding licences to manufacture products for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line: garment maker G-III, Mondani Handbags and Marc Fisher Footwear.
Marc Fisher told AFP it had no comment, while the others did not respond to requests.
The first daughter’s business has come under scrutiny since major US department store chain Nordstrom announced in February it would stop carrying her products, citing poor sales.
That provoked a scathing attack from Trump and his advisers and even prompted senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway to urge Americans to go out and buy his daughter’s products.
The Washington Post reported this week that many had done just that, with February proving a banner month for the brand, in terms of sales.
More than 1,200 shipments of Trump-branded products have flowed into the US from China and Hong Kong over the past decade, according to an examination of US import data last year by antiTrump political action committee Our Principles PAC.
During his campaign, Trump defended the licensing of the Trump name for goods made in China -- from shoes to ties to dress shirts -- as smart business.
But at the same time he frequently accused China of stealing US jobs through unfair trade practices and currency manipulation, while also slamming US firms such as Ford and Nabisco for offshoring.
Since taking office, he has kept up the pressure, vowing to punish domestic and foreign companies that manufacture abroad with massive tariffs of as much as 45 percent.