While Donald Trump’s trade war sends tremors through global markets, in Yiwu — the eastern Chinese city famed for mass-producing everything from Halloween decorations to red Make America Great Again hats — exporters are reacting with calm defiance rather than panic.
With fresh tariffs from Washington now reaching 125%, more than double the peak levels Trump had threatened during his campaign, some observers expected economic shockwaves. Instead, shop owners and factory managers in “trinket town” are projecting confidence — and a bit of irony.
“Trump wants a slice of our pie,” say vendors proudly posing under T-shirts featuring the former president’s face. But they believe Beijing’s retaliation — including steep counter-tariffs — will force Washington to backtrack.
The Chinese government has turned to Mao-era rhetoric to galvanize public opinion. A video clip of Mao Zedong during the Korean War, in which he declares China will never yield, has gone viral on Chinese social media. The old “paper tiger” metaphor, used by Mao in 1964 to describe the United States, has also made a comeback.
On the ground, entrepreneurs remain resilient. In Yiwu’s sprawling markets, sellers refuse to slash prices for American buyers, even as orders drop. “We can survive on savings for one, two, even three years,” says a local manufacturer proudly displaying a hand-painted zombie mask for the US Halloween market.
Meanwhile, in Zhengzhou — the city where Apple’s iPhones are assembled — uncertainty looms. Workers fear reduced shifts and declining demand. But in Yiwu, smaller exporters are pivoting towards the Global South, offering their customer networks to larger, more exposed firms in other regions of China. A rare show of solidarity in a usually hyper-competitive economy.
And there’s more than one paradox in this story: Trump merchandise, produced in China for just $1 per cap, sells for up to $50 in the US. With tariffs? “They’ll pay $60,” shrugs a vendor. “Proud Trump supporters won’t flinch — and American retailers can use tariffs as an excuse to raise prices.”
In the end, the real cost of the trade war may not be borne in Yiwu — but in the wallets of US consumers.