By
Reuters Published December 16, 2024 Reading time
5 minutes Download
Print
Text size

China's 'erotic clothing' capital braces for Trump and e-commerce crackdown

By
Reuters Published
December 16, 2024

 In an industrial park being built with Chinese state support in the middle of a sprawling farming community, factory boss Lei Congrui straightens a tiny golden bell hanging off a choker on a mannequin wearing white-and-pink lingerie.

What Lei calls his "erotic clothing" showroom is one of the few already open in WeMet Industrial Park, whose Chinese name translates as "Victoria's Secret Town" - though it has no official affiliation to the U.S. brand. 
​
The development of the lingerie industry in eastern Guanyun county, 180 miles (290 km) from the metropolis of Nanjing, has exploded partly due to a U.S. tariff exemption likely to soon be curtailed or scrapped.

Under the "de minimis" rule, which seeks to reduce customs paperwork, the United States exempts foreign packages valued at $800 or under from tariffs as long as they're shipped to individuals.