Donald Trump Places Large Chinese Window Order; Says He Couldn't Locate Them in the United States, According to Recent CNBC Interview
September 27, 2010

Donald Trump recently placed a large window order from an unknown Chinese window producer for one of his projects, according to a recent interview with CNBC. Why? He says he couldn't find a U.S. producer.

"I ordered windows, thousands of windows the other day; they're made in China," he told CNBC. "I don't want to buy them, but it's hard to get them anywhere else."

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, yes, Chinese imports of aluminum and bauxite products have increased in recent years. Reports show that in 2005 such were valued at $464,188,000; in 2009 the value was reported as $599, 932, 000 (down some compared to 2008, which was listed as $617, 672, 000)

The Trump comment has gotten a lot of worldwide media attention, and while representatives from his offices have not responded to USGNN.com™'s request for comments, U.S. manufacturers disagree on the availability of domestic windows. In an interview last month on ensuring quality in imported aluminum materials, Dave Hewitt, director of marketing for EFCO, a Pella Company, in Monett, Mo., pointed out, "There are a lot of hard-working people [in the aluminum window/curtainwall industry] in the United States who need work and we have a lot of capacity, which makes us competitive."

A number of commercial window companies were contacted, but at press time had not responded to USGNN.com's request for comments. Stay tuned to USGNN.com for additional updates as they are made available.

What do you think about Trump's statement? Please e-mail erogers@glass.com.

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