The Trump Organization's outsourcing has become a contentious issue this election cycle. Many of the products bearing Donald Trump’s name appear to come from low-wage countries in East Asia, something the Clinton campaign has routinely criticized.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection records, compiled by ImportGenius.com since 2007, give us a look at what has been imported by many of the businesses that are owned by Trump or use his name via licensing deals.
Trump has imported from these countries
Most of Trump’s products appear to be imported from China, Hong Kong and South Korea, records show.
Trump has imported from these countries
Most of Trump’s products appear to be imported from China, Hong Kong and South Korea, records show.
Trump has imported from these countries
Most of Trump’s products appear to be imported from China, Hong Kong and South Korea, records show.
The Trump brand
Trump-affiliated retail products made abroad have been featured in multiple attack ads. The Clinton campaign has argued that all of these products could be made domestically, creating jobs for U.S. workers. Trump has responded that bad trade deals, which he says he would fix as president, make domestic production more expensive than outsourcing.
Trump’s clothing line, one of the best-known of his brands, is manufactured in primarily lower-income countries in East Asia and Latin America. His furniture line, Trump Home, appears to come primarily from Germany and Turkey. Below are many of the retail products Trump-affiliated businesses have imported over the past decade. Note that some of these products may have been produced both abroad and in the U.S.
Vodka
Trump licensed his name to the Israeli vodka after a 2011 legal battle. Unlike the original Trump vodka made in Holland, the new version was popular as one of the few liquors that’s kosher for Passover.
Barware
Made by a crystal company in a small town in Slovenia, its first entry into the U.S. market.
Ties
Made in countries such as China and sold on Amazon.com in nearly 200 patterns and sizes.
Mirrors
Made in China
Fragrance
Trump’s cologne has been manufactured in and out of the United States.
Accessories
Including cuff links, belts and eyeglasses made in China and other countries.
Clothing
The Clinton campaign has repeatedly attacked Trump for making his clothing line abroad. The manufacturers are generally scattered throughout East Asia and Central America.
Chandeliers and lamps
Some of these products retail for
more than $4,000. Made in China.
Furniture
Trump Home sells furniture to consumers made in Germany and Turkey, but his own hotels often get furniture from massive distributors such as the multinational IHS Global Alliance.
Vodka
Trump licensed his name to the Israeli vodka after a 2011 legal battle. Unlike the original Trump vodka made in Holland, the new version was popular as one of the few liquors that’s kosher for Passover.
Barware
Made by a crystal company in a small town in Slovenia, its first entry into the U.S. market.
Mirrors
Made in China
Ties
Fragrance
Made in countries such as China and sold on Amazon.com in nearly 200 patterns and sizes.
Trump’s cologne has been manufactured in and out of the United States.
Clothing
The Clinton campaign has repeatedly attacked Trump for making his clothing line abroad. The manufacturers are generally scattered throughout East Asia and Central America.
Chandeliers
and lamps
Some of these
products retail for more than $4,000. Made in China.
Accessories
Including cuff links, belts and eyeglasses made in China and other countries.
Furniture
Trump Home sells furniture to consumers made in Germany and Turkey, but his own hotels often get furniture from massive distributors such as the multinational IHS Global Alliance.
Vodka
Trump licensed his name to the Israeli vodka after a 2011 legal battle. Unlike the original Trump vodka made in Holland, the new version was popular as one of the few liquors that’s kosher for Passover.
Mirrors
Made in China
Barware
Made by a crystal company in a small town in Slovenia, its first entry into the
U.S. market.
Fragrance
Trump’s cologne has been manufactured in and out of the United States.
Clothing
The Clinton campaign has repeatedly attacked Trump for making his clothing line abroad. The manufacturers are generally scattered throughout East Asia and
Central America.
Ties
Made in countries such as China and sold on Amazon.com in nearly 200 patterns and sizes.
Accessories
Including cuff links, belts, and eyeglasses made in China and other countries.
Chandeliers
and lamps
Some of these products retail for more than $4,000. Made in China.
Furniture
Trump Home sells furniture to consumers that’s made in Germany and Turkey, but his own hotels often get furniture from massive distributors, like the multinational IHS Global Alliance.
Items imported for use in Trump’s businesses
Many goods are manufactured abroad and imported for use by Trump-affiliated businesses, not sold to consumers. Below are many of these products, though some may have been sourced domestically as well as abroad. They are primarily used in hotels and resorts bearing his name.
Most of these imports come from China, often from manufacturing giants that make products for a number of U.S. hotels. A few products, however, are more niche: Italian furniture and Japanese magazines, for instance.
Drinks
Trump imported water and wine for his hotels from China and Panama, even though he and his son bottle their own versions domestically.
Dishes
Imported from East Asia
Christmas ornaments
So many casinos, so many Christmas trees that need a little holiday cheer. Imported from China and Hong Kong.
Shot glasses
Imported from China
Condiments
Imported from China
Appliances
Packaging and bags
Including panini presses and minibars from East Asia and Colombia. Brunch, anyone?
Trump products made in the United States,
such as chocolate bars, often had
packaging imported from East Asia.
Art
Imported from Panama for his Hollywood condos.
Sewing kits
Imported from China
Pens
Toiletries
Emblazoned with his hotels’ logos and imported from East Asia.
A large portion of Trump’s imports included items to stock his hotel rooms. These, primarily from East Asia, are also sold in hotel gift shops.
Linens
Trump imported Italian bedsheets for his hotels, but the comforters he sold publicly are made in the United States.
Room decor
Stocked in his hotel rooms and sold in their gift shops. Primarily from East Asia.
Furniture
Shuttlecocks
Trump imported a mix of designer furniture from places such as Italy and mass-produced furniture from places such as China.
Imported from Taiwan
Umbrellas
One of his most frequent imports from East Asia.
Goethe magazine
A Japanese magazine available in Trump’s resort in Honolulu.
Shoehorns
Imported from Hong Kong
Golf equipment
Imported from Bermuda
Plush toys
647 pounds of plush toys were delivered to Trump’s hotel in Chicago from Taiwan.
Grass
Trump imported more than 70,000 pounds of grass from the U.K. for his golf resort in Jupiter, Fla.
Drinks
Trump imported water and wine for his hotels from China and Panama, even though he and his son bottle their own versions domestically.
Dishes
Imported from East Asia
Christmas ornaments
So many casinos, so many Christmas trees that need a little holiday cheer. Imported from China and Hong Kong.
Condiments
Imported from China
Shot glasses
Imported from China
Packaging and bags
Appliances
Trump products made in the Unted States, such as chocolate bars, often had packaging imported from East Asia.
Including panini presses and minibars from East Asia and Colombia. Brunch, anyone?
Art
Imported from Panama for his Hollywood condos.
Sewing kits
Imported from China
Pens
Emblazoned with his
hotels’ logos and imported from East Asia.
Toiletries
A large portion of Trump’s imports included items to stock his hotel rooms. These, primarily from East Asia, are also sold in hotel gift shops.
Linens
Trump imported Italian bedsheets for his hotels, but the comforters he sold publicly are made in the United States.
Room decor
Stocked in his hotel rooms and sold in their gift shops. Primarily from East Asia.
Furniture
Trump imported a mix of designer furniture from places such as Italy and mass-produced furniture from places
such as China.
Shuttlecocks
Imported from Taiwan
Goethe magazine
Umbrellas
A Japanese magazine available in Trump’s resort in Honolulu.
One of his most frequent imports from East Asia.
Shoehorns
Imported from Hong Kong
Plush toys
647 pounds of plush toys were delivered to Trump’s hotel
in Chicago from Taiwan.
Grass
Trump imported more than 70,000 pounds of grass from the U.K. for his golf resort in Jupiter, Fla.
Golf equipment
Imported from Bermuda
Drinks
Trump imported water and wine for his hotels from China and Panama, even though he and his son bottle their own versions domestically.
Dishes
Imported
from East Asia
Shot glasses
Imported from
China
Condiments
Imported from China
Christmas
ornaments
So many casinos, so many Christmas trees that need a little holiday cheer. Imported from China and Hong Kong.
Appliances
Including panini presses and minibars from East Asia and Colombia. Brunch, anyone?
Packaging and bags
Trump products made in the United States, such as chocolate bars, often had packaging imported from East Asia.
Sewing kits
Imported from
China
Toiletries
A large portion of Trump’s imports included items to stock his hotel rooms. These, primarily from East Asia, are also sold in hotel gift shops.
Pens
Emblazoned with his
hotels’ logos and imported from East Asia.
Art
Imported from Panama for his Hollywood condos.
Furniture
Trump imported a mix of designer furniture from places such as Italy and mass-produced furniture from places such as China.
Room decor
Stocked in his hotel rooms and sold in their gift shops. Primarily from East Asia.
Linens
Trump imported Italian bedsheets for his hotels, but the comforters he sold publicly are made in the United States.
Goethe magazine
A Japanese magazine available in Trump’s resort in Honolulu.
Plush toys
647 pounds of plush toys were delivered
to Trump’s hotel
in Chicago from Taiwan.
Umbrellas
One of his most frequent imports from East Asia.
Shuttlecocks
Imported from Taiwan
Shoehorns
Imported from
Hong Kong
Golf equipment
Imported from Bermuda
Grass
Trump imported more than 70,000 pounds of grass from the U.K. for his golf resort in Jupiter, Fla.
Imports are par for the course
These imports are not unique to Trump — in fact, they’re a pretty accurate reflection of standard U.S. business practices. Many of the imports delivered to Trump-affiliated properties also went to Four Seasons and Hilton hotels. In 2015, slightly less than half of the country's $746 billion trade deficit was accounted for by China, and nearly three-quarters by Asia as a whole. Although some claim that Trump’s imports are out of step with his rhetoric, they are not out of step with his peers and competitors.
The Trump campaign declined to comment for this article, but in a primary debate in March, he responded that the outsourcing of manufacturing is something he’s well-positioned to fix: “We're allowed to do it... But I'm the one that knows how to change it.” The Trump Organization did not return a request for comment.
Methodology:
The items imported by Trump-affiliated businesses were found in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “bills of lading,” which are issued when items are imported at its ports. This means that items imported by land — often from Mexico and other Latin American countries — are excluded. Also, the country of origin on these items reflects the country the shipment came from immediately before the United States, which is often but not always the country in which they were manufactured.
Trump’s retail product lines are available on the Trump Organization’s website and the websites of former suppliers. Their countries of origin were found through the products’ websites, trade magazines and reporting by The Washington Post and other news organizations.
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