How China Is Influencing the US Election
Last Updated on October 28, 2024 5:06 am
As the US presidential election enters its final stages, voters are wearing campaign merchandise to show their support for their preferred candidate. Products like the ‘Make America Great Again’ Trump hat or the ‘Childless Cat Lady for Harris’ T-shirt have now become part of the voter identity.
But many voters are unaware that many of these popular campaign products are made in China. The Voice of America Mandarin Service reported that sales figures for ‘Made-in-America’ and ‘Made-in-China’ campaign products were not available. However, the large presence of Chinese-made campaign products on e-commerce platforms including Amazon and eBay is clear.
On Temu alone, thousands of election-themed items are being sold at a fraction of the price of the official campaign versions.
Among them, the “Make America Great Again” hat costs less than $4, while the “All Products Made in the USA” hat on the Trump campaign website sells for 10 times more at $40.
Similarly, Temur’s “Kamala Harris 2024” hat can be purchased for less than $3 each. The official Kamala Harris campaign store website, on the other hand, sells each “Kamala” hat for $47.
The Harris campaign has pledged to sell only products made in the United States on its official website.
Fear of America reached out to both campaigns for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The price disparity highlights the challenges the United States faces in reducing its reliance on Chinese goods and closing a trade loophole known as the de minimis loophole, under which Chinese companies can import goods worth less than $800 into the United States without paying import duties.
VOA Mandarin reached out to Amazon and eBay for comment on the volume of presidential election campaign merchandise imported from China on their websites and their regulations on Chinese sellers, but did not receive a response by press time.
Temu did not comment on its sales of election merchandise in the United States. However, a company spokesperson responded to VOA Mandarin in an email, saying, “Temu’s sales growth is not dependent on de minimis policies. The primary reason for our rapid expansion and market acceptance is the supply-chain efficiency and operational excellence that we have built over the years.”
Source: VOA