In the wake of the Trump administration’s tariff annoucements, two American fashion brands will become victims of China’s retaliatory moves

China has been quick to act in response to Donald Trump’s gleeful tariff imposition on countries that are perceived to be detrimental to national interest and security. Eager to use tariffs to exact demands from the trading partners of the U.S., he has slapped a new 10% import tax on goods from Chinese soil. And two of the earliest victims of the trade war are American fashion brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. According to 新浪财经 (Sina Finance), PVH Corp—which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger—has made it to the Chinese government’s 不可靠实体清单 (bu kekao shiti qingdan) “unreliable entities list” (the other American company named is Illumina, a maker of DNA sequencing systems).

According to a rather terse notice published on China’s Ministry of Commerce website, “after investigation, the American PVH Group and Illumina violated normal market trading principles, interrupted normal transactions with Chinese companies, and took discriminatory measures against Chinese companies, seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.” Whatever that really means, the question floated on Chinese social media soon after: “Will CK and Tommy Hilfiger withdraw from China?” For so many mainland shoppers willing to spend on Western brands, these two labels were their first taste of 豪华品牌 (haohua pinpai) or luxury brands.

It is hard to imagine prominent-in-China brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger not trading in the cities there, where they have stores in “virtually every province”, according to CNN. Both have been in the country for over twenty years (Calvin Klein Jeans, for example, was introduced in Beijing in 2001). The blacklisting may mean that the two brands might just pull out of the world’s second largest economy, including terminating their manufacturing obligations. They could be compelled to close the stores that they operate throughout China. Even their online presence could be similarly halted. The long-term impact of China’s reactive move on these brands remains to be seen.

Calvin Klein is scheduled to show their resuscitated upmarket ‘Collection’ line in the upcoming New York fashion week. It is hard to say now if the show would boost the brand’s image to the extent that Calvin Klein might survive China’s sudden blacklisting. In the past, Calvin Klein Collection—known as Calvin Klein 205W39NYC under Raf Simons’s creative direction (2016 to 2018)— did boost the popularity of their cheaper lines, including their jeans wear. With a new creative head, Veronica Leon, the brand may be able to augment their sub-labels’ desirability, especially among those new to designer names. Up to now, the ubiquity of the brands of PVH Corp in China has been key to the company’s global performance. They need to protect that presence.

Photos: Galerie Gombak