As the US presidential election enters its final phase, more and more voters are expressing support for their favorite candidate with election apparel and merchandise.
What they may not know is that the Trump “Make America Great Again” hat or the “Childless Cat Lady for Harris” T-shirt they wear These were possibly made in China.
With the help of e-commerce platforms, Chinese merchants are flooding the American election products market with cheap manufacturing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that American manufacturers of these products are having a difficult time competing.
“I think the amount of stuff on Amazon and Etsy that arrives from China and other countries on cargo ships and is unloaded on American shores is dramatically impacting the ability of American manufacturers, like myself, to compete and grow our own business.” . I think it’s dramatic,” said Ben Waxman, founder and co-owner of American Roots, an American clothing company.
Waxman did not share production or profit figures with the Mandarin Service of the VOA for privacy concerns, but he said his American-made campaign T-shirts, for example, sell for about $15 each, while those from Chinese online retailer Temu trade for as little as $3.
“It’s more expensive when you pay higher wages, living wages and respect environmental standards,” Waxman said, referring to long-standing criticism of China’s manufacturing practices.
His unionized company has been producing campaign merchandise for presidential candidates since 2016, primarily T-shirts and sweatshirts, with all raw materials and production coming from the United States.
Flooding the market
VOA’s Mandarin Service could not find total sales figures for election supplies made in the United States compared to those made in China. However, the huge number of election products manufactured in the Asian nation that are currently for sale on e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and eBay, shows that they are flooding the market.
In Temu alone, tens of thousands of election-themed items have been sold at a fraction of the price of official campaign versions.
Among them, a “Make America Great Again” cap costs less than $4, while the official website of former president and Republican candidate Trump’s campaign store – which boasts “All products made in the United States” United” -, he sells them for 10 times more. The price of each item is $40 each.
Likewise, Temu’s “Kamala Harris 2024” hats can be sold for less than $3 each, while the official website of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign store sells “Kamala” hats for $47 each .
The Harris campaign also promised to sell only American-made products on its official websites.
VOA requested comment from both campaigns but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The stark contrast in prices highlights the challenges the United States faces in reducing its dependence on Chinese goods and closing a trade loophole, known as the de minimis lagoonwhich allows Chinese companies to send products worth less than $800 to the US without paying import duties.
Kim Glas, president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), a union-aligned organization, said the abuse of the de minimis lagoon is rampant, adding that his group “lost 21 manufacturing operations in the last 18 months.”
Glas said some of NCTO’s member manufacturers found that sales of campaign products are slower this year than in any previous U.S. election cycle.
VOA Mandarin reached out to Amazon and eBay for comment on the volume of presidential campaign products imported from China on their websites and their regulations on Chinese sellers, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Temu did not comment on sales of election products in the US, but the company spokesperson responded in an email to VOA Mandarin: “Temu’s growth does not depend on the de minimis policy. “The main drivers behind our rapid expansion and market acceptance are the supply chain efficiencies and operational competencies we have cultivated over the years.”
The spokesperson added: “We are open to and supportive of any policy adjustments made by lawmakers that align with consumer interests.”
Representatives of the American textile industry highlight the irony of the two American presidential candidates being tough on trade with China, while their own supporters buy products made in that country to show their support.
“If someone supports a candidate because of his economic policy and his stance in favor of improving our economy, our environment and our working conditions, and does so by increasing the amount of domestic manufacturing, and then supports a candidate by purchasing a product manufactured in “A country that advocates otherwise is actually doing itself, the candidate and the economy a disservice,” said Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a New York-based clothing company that has supplied more than 300,000 caps. baseball to the Harris campaign.
“Anyone can make the product”
Cahn points out that anyone can produce campaign products because they don’t control their intellectual property. They believe that “it is more valuable to them for a person to carry the name of the campaign on their head than to make money selling the merchandise.”
“When anyone can make the product and sell it, a lot of the products will end up being made in China because there just aren’t many manufacturers here,” he told VOA Mandarin.
The Associated Press reported on October 18 that thousands of Donald Trump’s “God Bless America” Bibles were printed in China. The AP also noted that most Bibles, not just the one endorsed by Trump, are made in China.
Critics point out that Trump’s promotion of Made in the USA products could be undermined by the revelation.
“Dwarves [electorales] “I think Trump voters just don’t care. …I guess the question is whether this goes over the top for those voters who are still undecided. “This issue is certainly one that could be enough to turn this group away from Trump.”
Chris Tang, a professor of business administration and global management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, told VOA Mandarin that the impact of Chinese-made goods on the U.S. economy is not simply due to unilateral job losses. in the manufacturing sector. Consumers also get these products at low prices.
“While there are job losses in the manufacturing sector, this creates opportunities for small businesses to import small quantities quickly using [vendedores chinos en línea como] Alibaba to find suppliers who produce election merchandise quickly and sell them online quickly.”
Tang said the United States should develop a manufacturing sector that focuses on high-value products, not cheap ones like American election goods.
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