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Trump's 2020 Campaign Merch Might Become Way Harder To Get & It'd Be POTUS' Own Fault
International financial commitments are one of the U.S. president's current key talking points. But while Donald Trump has increasingly focused on matters of NATO dues and trade tariffs, Trump's 2020 campaign flags are made in China, and might very well be affected by his trade policy decisions, Reuters reports.
Many of Trump's reelection flags have already been stitched, donning the projected logo: Keep America Great, according to Reuters. But if they aren't shipped from the country soon, they could be slapped with tariffs imposed by the candidate himself.
Trump's flags are manufactured at Jiahao Flag Co Ltd in China's eastern Anhui province. The company makes a multitude of flags, including LGBTQ pride flags, specialty banners, and an array of other national flags.
“If he continues to demand tariff increases as he has been, or if he continues to agree with those who are against China, I definitely would not be able to accept [more orders],” manager Yao Yuanyuan told Reuters.
So far, Trump has slapped tariffs on about $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. But while that is significant in and of itself, he has indicated that the sky is the limit.
"I'm ready to go to 500," the president told CNBC's Joe Kernen during an episode of Squawk Box earlier in July.
The number 500, according to CNBC, refers to the dollar value of total Chinese goods that the U.S. imported into the country during 2017. That number, precisely, was $505.5 billion.
"I'm not doing this for politics, I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country," Trump said. "We have been ripped off by China for a long time."
If Trump does opt to impose tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S. from China, some experts believe that China will be unable to levy proportionate tariffs. This has to do with simple numbers. While the United States imports just over $500 billion worth of goods from China, China currently imports about $205 billion from the U.S., according to Reuters.
Yao told Reuters that she believed the large Trump 2020 flag order might have been a result of anticipated tariffs.
"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 new tariffs that Trump has imposed on Chinese goods, as well as the additional tariffs he is reportedly considering imposing, are part of a trade war the president began earlier this summer. After he issued the first wave of tariffs against China, China responded with proportionate tariffs in turn. But Trump's trade war hasn't been limited to Asia — Canada, as well as European countries, have also been targets of new tariffs from the United States. All have, or are planning, retaliatory tariffs in response.
If Trump does end up implementing tariffs on all Chinese goods, his own 2020 merchandise could end up being more expensive for consumers. Because it would be more expensive to bring the goods, particularly the flags, into the country, merchandisers could end up hiking prices. While this isn't currently a guarantee, it has the potential to be a consequence of Trump's hardline, America-first economic policies.