Trade war: The impacts on luxury consumption and why it could decline

With a tight trade war between the United States and China , the world has put its focus (almost unintentionally) on the factories of luxury brands established in the Asian giant.

And Asian suppliers have become famous on social media like TikTok in the last week due to their attempt to convince users to ignore the 145% tariffs that US President Donald Trump imposed on imports from Chinese territory .

(More: Inflation and growth, the victims of the 10% tariff on exports to the US .)

One example is a TikTok user named Wang Sen , who claims to be the original manufacturer of equipment used by many luxury brands, while standing in front of a pair of what appear to be Birkin bags , which are known to be very expensive. Original equipment manufacturers work behind the scenes to produce items that another company then sells under their own name and logo.

" Why don't you contact us and buy from us? You won't believe the prices we'll give you! " he said in a video later deleted by the Chinese social media platform.

(More: 'There aren't any': China denies new trade negotiations with the United States .)

At the same time, DHgate , an online wholesaler known for selling Chinese imitations of luxury goods, managed to position itself at number two on Apple's App Store in the United States. However, experts assured CNN that the probability of these individuals being genuine suppliers of these types of brands is very low, almost zero .

However, one thing these types of videos reveal, in addition to the concern that US tariffs cause to buyers, is that they also reveal their dependence on the Asian giant .

The creators are spreading the message that, despite Washington 's insistence that its trade policies give priority to the United States, those same measures will result in American shoppers being unable to access their favorite products in the same way or having to pay more for them.

A blow to consumer culture?

As this type of social media content becomes more viral, the topic of US dependence on Chinese and other foreign chains has become a central topic of discussion . This has forced many consumers to question the origin of their favorite products.

(You may be interested in: The U.S. will review its trade relationship with Colombia to 'protect what we have created' .)

However, the environmental impact of ordering en masse from Asian manufacturers also comes into play, a practice that has gained popularity with the emergence of e-commerce companies such as Temu and Shein , which have benefited from tariff exemptions that will soon be lifted.

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