‘Sales have been great’ since factory began making Trump banners in 2015, highlighting a paradox in US-China relations under Trump
The red, white and blue banners for 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 the president’s own making as he ratchets up a rancorous trade dispute with Beijing.
At the Jiahao Flag company 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 $34bn worth of goods from China. After Beijing retaliated in kind, Washington announced levies on an additional $200bn worth of products and threatened more, targeting potentially all of China’s exports to America – including flags.
