Donald Trump Sells Chinese Goods Despite Accusing China of Stealing US Jobs
Trump says he's "obligated" to buy Chinese goods while China has U.S. jobs.
— -- In his campaign kickoff on Tuesday, Donald Trump blasted cheap Chinese goods — but he has no problem putting his name on them and selling them.
The day after his tirade, the Trump Store inside the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York boasted an array of imported goods, including teddy bears and T-shirts from China alongside products from Haiti, Nicaragua and Lesotho.
Trump mentioned China two-dozen times in the opener to his 2016 presidential bid, accusing that country and Mexico of putting Americans out of work.
"They can’t get jobs, because there are no jobs, because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs," Trump said.
He promised he "will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created and bring back jobs "from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places."
Trump said in his speech that he buys Chinese goods because the prices are artificially cheap.
"A friend of mine is a great manufacturer. And, you know, China comes over and they dump all their stuff, and I buy it," Trump said. "I buy it, because, frankly, I have an obligation to buy it, because they devalue their currency so brilliantly. They just did it recently, and nobody thought they could do it again."
Trump said China's currency moves "make it impossible for our companies to compete, impossible. They’re killing us."
He posited that he could garner better trade terms with China but offered no details.
“When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time,” Trump said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday he disagreed with Trump's comments.
"Economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States has grown to such an extent today that it has become like, 'You are among us and we are among you,'" Lu told the Reuters news agency.
A Trump spokeswoman declined to comment Wednesday.