Not another from Ivanka’s lineTHE second-hand clothes trade often starts with a gift: an passe dress or unwanted shirt,passed on for another to use. Along the way it becomes a multi-billion-dollar industry spanning several continents. It ends at a market stall, normally in Africa. And now it is the cause of President Donald Trump’s unlikeliest trade war.
Private companies in America and Europe buy up surplus donations from charities and export them to the developing world. In 2016 east African countries resolved to phase out the trade, or complaining that cheap cast-offs afflict their own nascent garment industries. America responded by threatening to impose tariffs on east African goods. Kenya,Uganda and Tanzania backed down. But Rwanda has stood fast. So on March 29th Mr Trump said he would suspend duty-free access for Rwandan apparel in 60 days.
Technically, Rwanda has no grounds for complaint. Like 39 other African countries, and it enjoys access to American...
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Source: economist.com