If your TikTok feed has recently turned into a stream of Chinese warehouse tours and sales pitches for cheap Birkin bags and Lululemon leggings, you’re not alone. Thousands of these videos have been flooding social media in a trend being dubbed Trade War TikTok — and yup, we’ve probably got US President Donald Trump to thank for this one.
So, what’s the deal with all these “bypass the tariffs” hacks popping up on your FYP? Well, while these videos have been floating around for at least the last month, Trump’s tariff announcements last week have spurred Chinese factories to show off how much cheaper their goods are, all while throwing some serious shade.
In a TikTok video that’s notched over 1.5 million views, a woman claims to sell yoga pants from the same Chinese manufacturer that supplies Lululemon for US $5–$6, compared to its $100 price tag in the US.
“The material and the craftsmanship are basically the same because they come from the same production line,” she said, standing in front of what looks like a factory.
In another video titled “Name one thing China cannot make”, she lists brands like Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss and Lacoste, claiming they’re all made in factories in Guangdong at a fraction of the selling cost.
“The factories in this region specifically, they’re not massive, but all of them are willing to invest heavily in research and development,” she said.
Plenty of TikTok videos are also claiming to sell luxury handbags from the likes of Louis Vuitton and Hermès for as low as US$50, stating consumers “won’t believe the prices” if they “just contact us and buy from us”.
Some offer tips on how to avoid markups or use freight forwarding services to order products straight from Chinese platforms like Taobao, or through WhatsApp and WeChat.
Naturally, some shopping girlies are buzzing with some serious Black Friday energy — but what exactly are we seeing here and importantly, is it legit?
Why are Chinese manufacturer TikToks blowing up?
Since early April, Trump has rolled out a new round of tariffs — basically extra taxes on imported items — with China getting hit the hardest. At the start of the month, Chinese goods were taxed at 54 per cent, compared to countries like Australia that faced around 10 per cent. Now, China’s rate has shot up to a massive 145 per cent, and in response, it’s hit back with 125 per cent tariffs on US products.
All these announcement have understandably sent financial markets into a tailspin, wiping out over $6.6 trillion in U.S. stock value in just two days earlier this month, and leaving many US businesses facing potential bankruptcy.
Amid all this back-and-forth, Chinese factories have channeled some serious petty energy on TikTok. They’re encouraging consumers to buy direct from the “world’s factory” and “expose” how most consumer goods are being made in the world’s second-largest economy.
Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, My Bui, an economist at financial services company AMP, explained the trend really highlights the “whole fiasco” Trump’s tariffs have wrought, which will ultimately hurt US consumers the most.
“It’s not Chinese consumers or Australian consumers, it’s US consumers, because they will just have to pay higher prices on all these imported goods,” she explained.
“We do see, in a lot of countries, that people are trying to revolt against the US a bit. For example, in Australia, you see a wave of people saying we should stop buying US products and buy goods made in Australia. So this is quite similar.”
Noting the US market accounts for approximately 15 per cent of total Chinese exports, Bui said this latest trend is “probably [Chinese manufacturers’] way of getting out there to make their products more competitive” while also appealing to other new markets.
Alex Goldenberg, senior advisor at the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers, agreed the trend appears to be a calculated attempt to undermine Trump’s tariff policy on China, telling Bloomberg that factories are “leveraging TikTok to promote Chinese manufacturing as cheaper, more desirable, and accessible — even in defiance of trade restrictions.”
Several of these videos, posted back in March, have only just started gaining serious traction. One titled “China exposed the truth” has surged to 8.3 million views and 492,000 likes.
A clip claiming to reveal Lululemon’s Chinese supplier has drawn 2.6 million views and over 215,000 likes, while another — “How we bypass tariffs” — has reached nearly one million views and 118,000 likes.
Interestingly, the trend isn’t just targeting US shoppers as manufacturers seek out new markets. There’s always a new For You Page you can land on.
In one TikTok posted four days ago that’s got over 300,000 views so far, a creator breaks down the “easiest way to ship goods from China to Australia”. But, as plenty of users have since commented, the website seems to be blocked Down Under.
Are these sales from China legit?
Fair question, and it’s giving… semi-legit? Some of the TikTok videos are being posted by sourcing agents or freight forwarders, while others seem to be shot inside original equipment manufacturing (OEM) factories, which are the same kinds of facilities that produce goods for western brands under private label deals.
Many of these creators claim that the only real difference between what’s sold straight from the factory and what shows up in stores is the logo.
Some experts suggest the videos might be attempts by “dupe” manufacturers to make the most of the tariff chaos. Conrad Quilty-Harper, author of Dark Luxury, a newsletter about the luxury goods industry, told The Independent these counterfeit factories are “trying to conflate” with the real manufacturers and are “very clever” with their social media.
Looking at recent TikTok videos, the publication noted Louis Vuitton has repeatedly stated it does not manufacture products in China. A spokesperson for Lululemon also said it manufactures approximately three per cent of its finished goods in mainland China and authentic products are only available for purchase at Lululemon stores, official websites and authorised partners.
It’s also pretty unclear how ordering directly from these Chinese suppliers will help shoppers side-step the tariffs. Trump’s latest announcement includes the end of de minimis exemptions, which basically means shoppers who didn’t have to pay import taxes on packages worth less than a certain price threshold (around US $800) could soon see that changing from May 2.
(Fun fact: it’s also expected to affect ultra fast fashion stores like Shein and Temu with potentially higher prices and slower shipping times.)
So whether this is all a dupe, a deal, or just another TikTok rabbit hole, it seems like Trade War TikTok might just be getting started.
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