China-US trade war: the gloves are already off, but will Donald Trump’s favourite MAGA hats be next?
Chinese producers of the ubiquitous ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball caps fear the worst as product appears on proposed tariff list
The gloves might already be off in the trade war between Beijing and Washington, but it is Chinese hat manufacturers – including those that produce the bright red “Make America Great Again” caps much loved by Donald Trump supporters – that now fear they will be its next casualties.
Last week, the US Trade Representative’s Office revealed a list of US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports that it is threatening to subject to 10 per cent tariffs – including “hats and headgear” made from cotton, fur, vegetable fibres or paper yarn.
China’s garment industry has been under pressure for some time, as the global supply chain has shifted to low-cost manufacturing bases in Southeast Asia. Now it looks set to become embroiled in a punishing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
For Zhenjiang Kimtex Industrial Company in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, the US accounts for 40 per cent of its sales, or about 3 million yuan (US$445,000) a year. While it mostly manufactures winter hats and scarves, in 2016, it also produced hundreds of the “Make America Great Again” baseball hats that were de rigueur for Trump fans.