Making good on one of his key campaign promises, President Donald Trump wasted no time in pulling the US
out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership . The North American Free Trade Agreement
could be next .
The moves align the new administration against "globalism" and free trade - a stance further emphasized by Press Secretary Sean Spicer's recent suggestion that a 20% tax on imports from Mexico could help fund Trump's proposed border wall. But an examination of US hotels owned by the Trump Organization reveals just how much they rely on foreign imports, a practice that could come under fire from his own administration.,
The rooms in Trump hotels are adorned with furniture and products that have traveled farther than most guests. Sets of toiletries in the bathroom were imported from Central America, shipped to the US from the Trump Hotel in Panama City. Headboards, tall and grand and often covered in velvet or leather, came from Jiashan, China. Light fixtures were brought in from Kamenický Šenov, a town in the Czech Republic.
To track where Trump hotels buy goods, Business Insider consulted
ImportGenius , a company that compiles data from US Customs into proprietary databases. The resulting list shows Trump's businesses have imported furniture, fixtures, building materials, apparel, and supplies from more than 15 countries since 2012. Over the past two years, the companies have received shipments nearly 50 times.
In his inauguration speech, Trump reiterated his commitment to domestic manufacturing. "We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American," the president said. But that agenda stands in conflict with the Trump Organization's business practices.
While Trump hasn't said much about the origins of items in his hotels, he has repeatedly acknowledged that his clothing was manufactured abroad. (Shipping data shows that much of Ivanka's line is too .) When pressed, Trump has said he'd like to buy domestically made products but that it was hard to find them.
"They don't even make this stuff here," Trump said on ABC, after anchor George Stephanopoulos suggested he should lead by example.
