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But they are made in eastern China and soon could be hit by
punitive tariffs of Trump's own making as he ratchets up a
rancorous trade dispute with Beijing.
At the Jiahao Flag Co Ltd in Anhui province, women operate
sewing machines to hem the edges of "Trump 2020" flags the size
of beach towels, while others fold and bundle them for delivery.
The factory has turned out about 90,000 banners since March,
said manager Yao Yuanyuan, an unusually large number for what is
normally the low season, and Yao believed the China-U.S. trade
war was the reason.
"It's closely related," she said. "They are preparing in
advance, they are taking advantage of the fact that the tariffs
haven't gone up yet, with lower prices now."
The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on $34 billion
worth of goods from China. After Beijing retaliated in kind,
Washington announced levies on an additional $200 billion worth
of products and threatened more, targeting potentially all of
China's exports to America - including flags.
At about $1 apiece, the suppliers of the paraphernalia that will
surround the Trump campaign can't resist the low price offered
by Yao's factory.
She says the buyers are located in both China and abroad and she
doesn't know if they are affiliated with Trump's official
campaign or the Republican Party.
Her factory has been making Trump banners since the time his tag
line as a candidate was "Make America Great Again", highlighting
an irony of his hardline on trade with China.
"Sales have been great ever since 2015," she said.
But Trump's effort to wrest better trading conditions from China
threatens Yao's price advantage, and his hardline stance could
eventually repel suppliers like Yao.
"If he continues to demand tariff increases as he has been, or
if he continues to agree with those who are against China, I
definitely would not be able to accept (more orders)," she said.
"Everyone can have a patriotic heart, but this won't improve his
economy."
The Jiahao Flag Factory doesn't only make Trump banners. It
churns out American and other national flags and specialty
banners, including rainbow gay pride flags.
Factory seamstress Sun Lijun is losing no sleep over the trade
war, however.
"I know that Trump's tariffs targeting China will have some
effect, but we're not worried at all, since we're producing
foreign flags every single day," she said.
(Reporting by Jiang Xihao and John Ruwitch; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
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