This morning, Donald Trump talked about “a wave of globalization that wipes out our middle class and our jobs” and blamed Hillary Clinton for sending “millions of our best jobs” to China.
In fact, Trump knows a thing or two about outsourcing.
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Donald Trump manufactured all of his ties, tie pins and clips, cufflinks and packaging in China. “As first reported by Salon.com, the Trump wear sold in Macy’s, part of the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, is manufactured overseas, including ties in more than 50 different styles and colors (all made in China), suits (made in Mexico and Vietnam), and dress shirts (five styles made in China). All the Trump tie pins ($22) and tie clips ($28) are labeled as ‘Made in China,’ as are the cufflinks ($35 to $45 a pair) and even the boxes containing them.”
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Donald Trump’s deal with Phillips-Van Heusen to manufacture his clothing line placed no restrictions on countries in which his products could be manufactured. “The shirtmaker used factories in some countries, including Bangladesh, China and Honduras, where labor violations such as forced overtime are common, according to Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a group that monitors factory conditions. The agreement signed by Trump and Phillips-Van Heusen placed no restrictions on where Trump dress shirts, tuxedo shirts and neckwear could be manufactured. Phillips-Van Heusen agreed that any products ‘manufactured by it or for it anywhere in the world’ would not be made using child labor ‘as defined in the relevant jurisdiction of production,’ according to the contract, which was filed in a later lawsuit in New York between the broker company and Trump.”
- Donald Trump said he manufactured an array of Trump brands with Chinese labor because he couldn’t “compete with the manipulation” of currency. “Donald Trump, who has repeatedly accused China of stealing manufacturing jobs from the U.S., acknowledged today that an array of Trump-branded clothes, accessories and other products are made in China. The real estate and casino mogul, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, blamed China for the fact that Trump ties, Trump cufflinks and even Trump teddy bears come with a ‘Made in China’ label. ‘The answer is very simple: Because of the fact that China so manipulates their currency it makes it almost impossible for American companies to compete,’ Trump told ABC News. ‘You see it with all of the items you are talking about. You also see it with building products. If it continues this way, America won’t have any jobs, except for taking care of the elderly.’ Asked if he ever looked at having his Trump products manufactured in the U.S., Trump said, ‘Always do. There are very few companies that do it because they can’t compete with the manipulation.’”
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Donald Trump said he manufactured his clothing in China because “they devalue their currency.” RUBIO: “The second thing, about the trade war — I don’t understand, because your ties and the clothes you make is made in Mexico and in China. So you’re gonna be starting a trade war against your own ties and your own suits.” TRUMP: “All right, you know what?” RUBIO: “Why don’t you make them in America?” TRUMP: “Because they devalue their currency — they devalue their currencies.” [Republican Primary Debate, Houston TX, 2/25/16]
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Donald Trump said he manufactured his clothing line overseas because “it’s very, very hard to have anything in apparel made in this country.” TAPPER: “When it comes to outsourcing jobs, which is what this tie would be a representative issue of, one of the issues is that the people in China, the laborers, are paid a lot less and the standards are worse when it comes to the environment and health care and worker safety.” TRUMP: “Many problems. I agree with that.” TAPPER: “Isn’t that what — but what do you say when somebody says, well, why don’t you — why don’t you be a leader and make these in Philadelphia? I would be willing to pay more for this tie.” (CROSSTALK) TRUMP: “You would. And, unfortunately, you would see that it’s very, very hard to have anything in apparel made in this country. Do you know how much is made outside of the country?” [State of the Union, CNN, 6/28/15]