2024 US Election

As the United States presidential election enters its final phase, more and more voters are expressing support for their favored candidate by wearing election merchandise.

What they may not realize is that the “Make America Great Again” Trump hat or “Childless Cat Lady for Harris” T-shirt they’re wearing quite possibly was made in China.

With the help of e-commerce platforms, Chinese traders are flooding the market for U.S. election merchandise with cheap goods. Anecdotal evidence suggests U.S. makers of these products are struggling to compete.

“I think the amount of stuff on Amazon and Etsy that's coming from China and other countries in cargo ships and unloaded on American shores is drastically impacting American manufacturers’, like myself, ability to compete and grow our own business. I think it's dramatic,” said Ben Waxman, founder and co-owner of American Roots, an American apparel company.

Waxman wouldn’t share production or profit figures with VOA Mandarin Service because of privacy concerns, but he did say his U.S.-made campaign T-shirts, for example, sell for about $15 each, while those on Chinese online retailer Temu can sell for as little as $3.

"It's more expensive when you pay higher wages, living wages, and abide by environmental standards,” Waxman said, referring to long-standing criticisms of China’s manufacturing practices.

His unionized company has been producing campaign merchandise for presidential candidates since 2016, mainly T-shirts and sweatshirts, with all raw materials and production sourced within the U.S.

Flooding the market

VOA Mandarin Service was unable to find total sales figures for made-in-America election merchandise versus made-in-China ones. But the massive number of Chinese-made election products for sale on e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and eBay, show they are flooding the market.

On Temu alone, tens of thousands of election-themed items have been sold at a fraction of the price of the official campaigns’ versions.

Among them, a “Make America Great Again” hat costs less than $4, while the official Trump campaign store website, which boasts “All Products Made in the USA,” sells them for 10 times that price at $40 each.

Likewise, Temu’s “Kamala Harris 2024” hats can sell for less than $3 each, while the official Kamala Harris campaign store website sells “Kamala” hats for $47 each.

The Harris campaign also vowed to only sell products made in the U.S. on its official websites.

VOA asked both campaigns for comment but didn't receive a response by the time of publication.

The stark contrast in prices highlights the challenges the U.S. faces in reducing its dependence on Chinese products and closing a trade loophole, known as the de minimis loophole, that allows Chinese companies to ship goods worth less than $800 to the U.S. without paying import duties.

Kim Glas, president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, a trade association representing domestic textile manufacturers, said abuse of the de minimis loophole is rampant, adding that her group "lost 21 manufacturing operations over the last 18 months.”

Glas said some of NCTO’s member manufacturers found sales of campaign products are slower this year than in any previous U.S. election cycle.

VOA Mandarin reached out to Amazon and eBay for comments on the volume of presidential campaign merchandise imported from China on their websites and their regulations of the Chinese vendors but didn’t receive a response by the time of publication.

Temu didn’t comment on election product sales in the U.S., but the company’s spokesperson replied in an email to VOA Mandarin, “Temu's growth isn't dependent on the de minimis policy. The primary drivers behind our rapid expansion and market acceptance are the supply-chain efficiencies and operational proficiencies we've cultivated over the years.”

The spokesperson added, “We are open to and supportive of any policy adjustments made by legislators that align with consumer interests.”

U.S. textile industry representatives note the irony of the two U.S. presidential candidates talking tough on trade with China while their own followers are buying China-made products to show their support for them.

“If someone is supporting a candidate because of that candidate's economic policy and their position toward improving our economy and improving our environment and improving our labor conditions, and doing so by increasing the amount of domestic manufacturing, and then they're supporting a candidate by buying a product that's made in a country that stands for the opposite of that, they're actually doing themselves and the candidate and the economy a disservice,” said Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a New York-based apparel company that has supplied more than 300,000 baseball caps to Harris’ campaign.

'Anybody can make the product'

Cahn notes that anyone can produce campaign products because the campaigns don't control their intellectual property. They think "it's more valuable for them to have a person wear the campaign's name on their head than it is to make money from selling the merchandise.”

“When anybody can make the product and sell it, a lot of the products are going to end up being made in China because there's just not a lot of manufacturers here,” he told VOA Mandarin.

The Associated Press reported on October 18 that thousands of Donald Trump's "God Bless America" Bibles were printed in China. The AP also noted that most Bibles, not just the Trump-backed one, are made in China.

Critics note Trump’s promotion of Made in the USA products could be undermined by the revelation.

“In past [election] years, this would've been a scandal,” says Marc Zdanow, a political consultant and CEO of Engage Voters U.S. “I think Trump voters just don't care. ... I guess the question is whether or not this rises to the top for those voters who are still undecided. This issue is certainly one that could be enough to push this group away from Trump.”

Chris Tang, a business administration and global management professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, told VOA Mandarin the impact of merchandise made in China on the U.S. economy is not simply about one-sided manufacturing job losses. Consumers also get these products at low prices.

“While there are job losses in manufacturing, it creates opportunities for small businesses to import small quantities quickly using [online Chinese sellers like] Alibaba to find suppliers to produce election merchandise quickly and sell them online quickly.”

Tang said the U.S. should develop a manufacturing sector that focuses on high-value products, not cheap ones such as U.S. election merchandise.

Efforts by U.S. adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the upcoming presidential election have already begun to intensify, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials, who warn some countries appear to be leaning toward additional measures to spark election-related violence.

The latest declassified assessment, issued Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes just two weeks before voters head to the polls November 5 to choose a new president and vote on a series of statewide and local races and initiatives.

“Foreign actors — particularly Russia, Iran and China — remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans’ confidence in the U.S. democratic system consistent with what they perceive to be in their interests,” according to the assessment.

But it warns U.S. intelligence agencies are “increasingly confident” that Russia is starting to engage in plans “aimed at inciting violence.”

It further assesses Iran also “may try to incite violence.”

Post-poll closing concerns

Of particular concern is what appears to be a growing focus on the hours, days and weeks after the polls close, when state and local election officials begin to tally and certify the results.

U.S. adversaries "probably will be quick to create false narratives or amplify content they think will create confusion about the election, such as posting claims of election irregularities," said a U.S. intelligence official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assessment in additional detail.

The official said Russia, Iran and China “may perceive a window of vulnerability to push disinformation or foment or amplify protests and threats” starting with the moment polling centers close and extending to January 6, when the presidential results are certified by a joint session of Congress.

"Foreign driven or amplified violent protests, violence or physical threats to election workers or state and local officials could challenge state and local officials' ability to conduct elements of the certification and Electoral College process,” the official said. “Particularly if they prevent necessary physical access to facilities or venues."

U.S. intelligence officials have previously warned that Russia and Iran have been especially active, running a variety of influence operations targeting U.S. voters, with a high likelihood that these efforts would extend beyond the November 5 election.

Russia, they said, has been working to boost the chances of former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, while Iran has been working to hurt Trump’s reelection bid and instead buoy the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

China, according to U.S. intelligence officials, has so far stayed out of the presidential race, focusing its efforts on congressional and state and local candidates perceived to be promoting policies detrimental to Beijing's interests, including those voicing support for Taiwan.

SEE ALSO:

US warns voters of disinformation deluge

Officials said Tuesday that new intelligence streams have raised concerns that Moscow, especially, will try to foment violence once the polls close.

"We expect Russia will be more aggressive in this period if the vice president [Kamala Harris] wins the election," the intelligence official said. “Russia would prefer the former president to win, and they would seek to more aggressively undermine the presidency of the then-president-elect.”

Russia, China and Iran have all rejected previous U.S. accusations of election meddling.

Russia and Iran have yet to respond to requests from VOA for comment, but China on Tuesday again rejected the latest U.S. intelligence findings.

“The presidential elections are the United States’ own affairs,” Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA in an email. “China has no intention and will not interfere.”

U.S. intelligence officials, though, point to what they describe as growing examples of malign intent, especially by Russia and Iran.

Influence operations

In one example, the officials said Russian-linked actors were responsible for a post on the X social media platform earlier this month that contained false allegations against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

“There are several indicators of manipulation that are consistent with the influence, efforts and tactics of Russian influence actors this cycle,” the U.S. intelligence official said.

In another case, U.S. officials said a Russian intelligence unit sought to recruit what they assess to likely be an unwitting American to organize protests.

They also point to actions taken last month by multiple U.S. agencies to counter several Russian influence efforts, including the use of fake websites and the creation of a shell company to funnel $10 million to a U.S. media company to push pro-Russian propaganda.

SEE ALSO:

US crackdown calls out Russian disinformation campaign

Also last month, the U.S. placed bounties and lodged criminal charges against three Iranian hackers, all accused of seeking to undermine the Trump reelection campaign.

SEE ALSO:

US moves against Iranian actors charged with election meddling

And there are fears that even these types of ongoing influence operations, which often seek to exploit divisive political issues, could lead to problems.

"Even if these disinformation campaigns are not specifically calling for violence, the tactics used to undermine confidence in the democratic institutions can lead to violence, even if not deliberately called for," said a senior official with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, who, like the U.S. intelligence official, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

‘Expect disruptions’

And while U.S. officials express confidence that safeguards are in place to prevent U.S. adversaries from attacking or hacking systems used to record and tally votes, there is concern that they will target other U.S. infrastructure to try to induce panic or violence.

“That is a real possibility," said the CISA official, adding the U.S. public should “expect disruptions.”

“We're going to see a voting location lose power,” the official said. “We're going to see potentially some type of impact on a transportation system. We're going to see a potential ransomware attack against a local election office.”

CISA officials say they have been working with state and local election officials to make sure they are prepared to handle sudden disruptions. And state officials say they are prepared.

“All states consider their election infrastructure and IT [information technology] systems a potential target for threats,” said Steve Simon, Minnesota’s secretary of state and the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, during a call with reporters Monday.

“Chief elections officials throughout the United States have worked really tirelessly and consistently to mitigate risks to our election systems and processes,” said Simon.