Donald Trump Decries Outsourcing but Much of Family Brand Is Manufactured Abroad
Many clothing and fashion products bearing the Trump name are outsourced.
— -- As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump talks tough against outsourcing, but does he practice what he preaches?
The GOP front-runner says that, if elected, he’d get Apple to build its computers in the United States rather than in other countries. He's also sworn off Oreo cookies ever since Nabisco moved part of its productions to Mexico.
But if Trump is going to force other companies to move production to the United States, will the same rules apply to his own family business ventures? After all, many of the clothing and fashion products bearing the Trump name are not made in the U.S.
Harvard Trade and Investment Professor Robert Lawrence did a deep dive on the Trump-branded merchandise advertised on Trump.com and found that products made in the U.S. are the exception and not the rule.
Most of the Trump neckties, shirts and suits are made in China, Bangladesh, or simply say “imported.” And virtually all of his daughter Ivanka Trump’s extensive clothing and accessory line for women is made outside the U.S., with many items manufactured in China.
“Of the 838 Ivanka products advertised through the site, none appear to be made exclusively in the U.S.; 628 are said to be imported and 354 made specifically in China,” Lawrence, who formerly served as a member of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, writes in a column revealing his findings published on PBS.
The Ivanka Trump Collection has now been removed from the Trump Organization’s website. A cached version of the page accessed in a Google search indicated that it existed as recently as March 5.
Neither the Trump Organization nor the Ivanka Trump Collection immediately responded to ABC News' request for comment.
Trump's wife, Melania, who is also in the fashion business, has a jewelry line with QVC. The jewelry is produced in China.
Trump has made no secret of the fact that some of his apparel is made overseas and has explained that his ties are made in China "because they’ve manipulated their currency to such an extent that it’s hard for our companies to compete.”
Trump has said that he would not let other countries manipulate currency if he's elected president.
“I wouldn’t let them manipulate their currency because that’s what they do,” Trump told CNN in an interview when asked about the fact that his ties are made in China.