Thousands of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bibles – sold for $59.99 each – have been printed in a country the former president has frequently accused of engaging in unfair trade practices and stealing American jobs: China .

Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show that a printer in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou shipped nearly 120,000 Bibles to the United States between early February and late March.

The estimated value of the three individual shipments was $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible. This is evident from databases that use customs data to track exports and imports. Based on the Bible’s retail price, potential sales proceeds could be around $7 million.

The Trump Bible’s connection to China, which has not been previously reported, reveals a stark contrast between the former president’s tough anti-China rhetoric and his series of trade deals on the campaign trail. Trump, who has licensed his name to the brand bible in collaboration with country singer Lee Greenwood, has done so so far earned about $300,000 in royalties from the deal, according to the former president’s financial disclosure forms.

Meanwhile, Trump is campaigning on a platform for re-election in the November 5 presidential election dependent on tariffs to stop Americans from buying imports. While he has proposed a 10% tariff on all imports, he proposes imposing tariffs of 60% or more on Chinese imports.

If applied to his “God Bless the USA” Bible, the 60 percent tariff on books printed in China would increase the price from $59.99 to $95.98.

The Trump campaign declined to comment.

A Bible with Trump’s name on it

The largest and most recent shipment of 70,000 copies of Trump’s Bible arrived by container ship at the Port of Los Angeles on March 28, two days after Trump announced in a video posted on his Truth Social platform that he had worked with Greenwood to the Bible for sale Bibles.

In the video, Trump mixed religion with his campaign message as he urged viewers to buy the Bible, inspired by Greenwood’s ballad “God Bless the USA.” The Bible contains copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance.

“This Bible is a reminder that the greatest thing we have to bring America back and make America great again is our religion,” Trump said. Judeo-Christian values, he added, are “under attack perhaps like never before.”

Trump did not say where the “God Bless the USA” Bibles are printed or how much they cost; A copy autographed by the former president costs $1,000. Trump also did not disclose how much he earns per sale.

A $59.99 version of the Bible commemorates the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania. Trump’s name appears on the cover above the phrase “The Day God Intervened.” The wording appears to have been memorized after the Bible was written. Trump said on Saturday that his would-be assassin had succeeded “not by the hand of providence and the grace of God.”

Trump’s licensing agreement

The Bibles are sold exclusively through a website that says it is not affiliated with any political campaign nor owned or controlled by Trump.

A photo published on the website shows Trump sitting at his desk in the Oval Office, with Greenwood standing next to him. In another photo, the former president smiles broadly while holding a copy of the Bible.

The website states that Trump’s name and image are used under a paid license from CIC Ventures, a company Trump identified as its owner in his recent financial disclosure. According to the disclosure, CIC Ventures earned $300,000 in royalties from Bible sales. It is unclear what time period this covers and how many additional payments Trump has received since the disclosure was made public in August.

CIC Ventures also has a sales license Sneakers with Trump logo which sell for $399 per pair. According to the website selling the shoes, the gold high-tops are currently sold out.

AP did not receive a response to questions sent to an email on the Bible website and to a Greenwood publicist.

Watches, sneakers, photo books and NFTs

For years, Trump has castigated Beijing as an obstacle to America’s economic success, imposing high tariffs on Chinese imports during his presidency and threatening even tougher measures if he is re-elected. He blamed China for the COVID-19 outbreak and recently suggested, without evidence, that thousands of Chinese immigrants are flooding the U.S. to build an “army” and attack America.

But Trump also has his personal finances in mind. Pitching Bibles is one of many for-profit ventures he has launched or promoted diamond-studded watchesSneakers, photo books, cryptocurrency and digital trading cards.

The network of companies has fueled conflicts of interest. Selling products at prices that exceed their value could be considered campaign contributions, said Claire Finkelstein, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

“You have to assume that everything the individual does is done as a candidate and that any money that comes to them goes to them as a candidate,” Finkelstein said. “Suppose Vladimir Putin bought a Trump watch. Is this a campaign finance violation? I think so.”

Selling Bibles, she added, “strikes me as a deeply problematic conflation of religion and state.”

As president, Trump would be able to influence policies and markets to benefit companies in which he and his family have a financial stake. As president, his administration exempted Bibles and other religious texts from tariffs imposed on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods.

Oklahoma’s Bible Offer

There is a potentially lucrative opportunity for Trump to sell 55,000 of the “God Bless the USA” Bibles to Oklahoma after the state’s top education official ordered public schools to include Scripture in classes for grades 5-12.

Oklahoma plans to spend $3 million on Bibles that matched Trump’s original edition: a King James Bible containing the founding documents of the United States. The request was revised Monday to allow the historic U.S. documents to be linked to the Bible or provided separately.

The Oklahoma Department of Education did not respond to AP’s questions about whether the Bibles must be printed in the United States or whether department officials have discussed the proposal with Trump or his representatives.

“There are hundreds of Bible publishers and we expect strong competition for this proposal,” said department spokesman Dan Isett.

Bible deliveries from China

China is one of the world’s leading producers of Bibles, so it is not unusual for the version endorsed by Trump to be printed there.

The first shipment of Trump Bibles bore the inscription “God Bless USA,” according to the Panjiva and Import Genius databases. The other two were described as “Bibles.” All the books were shipped by New Ade Cultural Media, a printing company in Hangzhou that describes itself as a “manufacturer of customized Bible books.” They were sent to Freedom Park Design, an Alabama company identified in databases as the importer of the Bibles.

Tammy Tang, a sales representative for New Ade, told AP that all three shipments were “God Bless the USA” Bibles. She said New Ade received the orders via WhatsApp messaging service and confirmed they were from Freedom Park Design. The books were printed on presses near the company’s Hangzhou office, she said. Tang did not disclose the sales price or other details, citing customer confidentiality.

“They didn’t come to meet us,” Tang said by phone. “We just do the production.”

She declined further comment and referred interview requests to Freedom Park Design.

According to corporate records, Freedom Park Design was incorporated on March 1 in Florida. The company’s president is an up-and-coming country singer named Jared Ashley. He also co-founded 16 Creative, a digital marketing company that uses the same Gulf Shores address and processes online orders for branded merchandise sold by entertainers and authors.

Ashley hung up when a reporter called and asked about the Bibles.

According to the company’s website, Greenwood is a client of 16 Creative. In 2021, he released the American Flag Bible. His song “God Bless the USA” was released 40 years ago and is a staple at Trump rallies. Greenwood also appeared at the former president’s campaign events.

Faux leather cover

Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister who reviews Bibles on his YouTube channel, said he quickly noticed the signs of a cheaply made book when his “God Bless the USA” Bible arrived wrapped in plastic in a padded mailer.

It had a faux leather cover and had words stuck together on the pages, making it difficult to read. He also found sticky pages that tore when torn apart, and there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible or where it was printed.

“I was shocked at how poor the quality was,” Wildsmith said. “It tells me it’s more about the love of money than the love of our country.”