Trump factory jobs sent to China may never come back
Republican accuses mainland of undercutting US manufacturing industry, but as labour costs rise there, many companies are moving elsewhere
US presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to bring long lost American manufacturing jobs back from China. But he may be too late – even for products that bear his family name.
A Chinese company that makes shoes for his daughter’s fashion line is now moving production to Africa, where labour is much cheaper.
The billionaire tycoon has frequently accused China of stealing US jobs through unfair trade practices and currency manipulation, while simultaneously relying on the country to make Trump-branded goods. But the kind of work that goes into making such products may never return to America, the president of major footwear producer Huajian Group said.
“Some manufacturers can’t even survive in China anymore,” Zhang Huarong said, speaking in his office in the southern factory hub of Dongguan.
His company has made about 100,000 pairs of Ivanka Trump-branded shoes over the years, according to spokesman Liu Shiyuan. In August, it filled an order for 20,000 – just weeks after Trump accepted the Republican nomination, with a speech vowing to bring jobs back to the US.
