A US-China trade war argument is sparked online by Karoline Leavitt’s purported “Made in China” garment.

Shikha Verma
2 Min Read

With a fashion issue featuring White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the heart of the most recent online battle, social media has emerged as an unexpected battleground in the continuing US-China trade war.

Karoline Leavitt’s dress sparks debate

Astute social media users immediately connected Leavitt’s eye-catching red and black lace dress, which she wore during a recent White House briefing, to a style that was offered on a number of Chinese e-commerce websites. Although it is yet unknown if the dress was made in China, the occurrence sparked a heated discussion.

The absurdity of Leavitt criticizing Chinese trade practices while possibly wearing a Chinese-made garment was brought up by some users. Wearing Chinese-made apparel and criticizing China—admit it! One user on X joked, “It is difficult to resist the allure of Made in China.”

Was it really made in China?

One online rumor claims that the dress was from Self-Portrait, a modern fashion brand located in London that was established in 2013 by designer Han Chong, who was born in Malaysia. However, there are concerns regarding the brand’s production origins given that it is supposedly owned by the Chinese fashion behemoth Ellassay and has its headquarters in Shenzhen.

Some social media users backed Leavitt by asserting that she wore a French original, while others claimed the dress was a Chinese knockoff of the original design. “Fake news. One user argued that although the advertisement displays a Chinese copy, she is wearing the French original.

US-China trade

With both nations imposing high tariffs on items valued at billions of dollars, the US-China trade war has gotten more intense. In direct response to President Trump’s decision to apply reciprocal duties of 145%, China increased levies on US imports to 125% last week, further aggravating already strained trade relations.

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