Popular Japanese clothing store Uniqlo says it will leave the U.S. if Trump insists on 'buy American, hire American'

The president of the popular Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo threatened to pull the company out of the United States if President Trump puts a tax on foreign imports, CNN Money reports. "We would not be able to make really good products [in the U.S.] at costs that are beneficial to customers," Uniqlo president Tadashi Yanai said in a Japanese news report. "It would become meaningless to do business in the U.S."

Uniqlo has 51 locations in the United States and had planned to open at least 20 more this year. The chain is doing "relatively well" while many malls are struggling to prevent vacancies: "Not only is Uniqlo a major retailer and employer in the U.S., it is also a major tenant of landlords in a landscape of retail distress," explained Peter Boockvar, the chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group.

Trump has vowed to "buy American, hire American."CNN Money points out that "in reality, [American consumers] purchase things that are cheaper or perceived as better quality, regardless of where they were made."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.