Hermès for All

The trade war between the US and China is affecting all countries. The world is closely watching even as Trump appears to have softened his stand on Chinese tariffs

- Seema Guha IS A SENIOR JOURNALIST COVERING FOREIGN AFFAIRS

TIKTOK videos of wholesale markets in China claiming to reveal the real price of luxury brand products have gone viral. One such video claims that the Hermès Kelly bag, worth $23,600, is being sold at one-tenth of its price for $478, and urges users not to pay for the brand logo. Another viral video claims that the $100 Lululemon yoga pants were being manufactured in two Chinese factories and sold for just $5 or $6. Another netizen claims to have access to manufacturers that make Louis Vuitton bags, and they can be sold for $50. The Independent reported that both Lululemon and Louis Vuitton denied finishing their products in China. These videos say it loud and clear: “Skip the middleman. Skip the tariffs. Come straight to the source—us.” Chinese consumers are having the last laugh. After escalating the trade war with China, US President Donald Trump is pulling back with some soothing words for Beijing. Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday that he was not going to further raise tariffs on China: “I don’t want them to go higher because at a certain point you make it where people don’t buy.” The president also claimed that the Chinese have reached out to the US a number of times.

Trump had hit China with a 245 per cent tax on all imports, up from the previously announced 125 per cent. Chinese President Xi Jinping countered with a 125 per cent increase on American goods and also suspended the supplies of six rare earth mineral metals needed to sustain certain strategic industries. In short, trade between the US and China would have come to a halt causing pain to both American and Chinese consumers.