Chinese Knockoff Sombrero Drags Colombian Tribe Into Trade Fight

In the Caribbean village of Tuchin, Colombian families who’ve woven straw hats for generations are seeing their livelihoods threatened by competition that shows China’s double-edged impact in Latin America.

Chinese-made imitations of the black-and-white sombrero vueltiao, as the hat is known, sell for half the $20 price of the least expensive originals. In response to plunging sales by artisans who spend up to 15 days cutting, sun-drying and braiding cane leaves to make a single hat, the government is rushing to protect one of the nation’s symbols and ban plastic, machine-made rip-offs.